“Look,” Lisara pointed to the screen.
In front of them stood a huge spaceship, still and timeless. A black ship with lines of neon purple running all around it - the same theme as their ship. Chris recognized that this was the mothership, the machine that had caused all this havoc. She stared at the massive piece of weaponry. How could anyone ever take that thing down? It seemed impossible.
The white lights in the ship dimmed down. The holographic screen flickered and turned off. The General stood up at the front and looked at everyone. “Now listen up,” he started. “We’re heading into the mothership. I want all of you to maintain top discipline. You will all be directed to your duties after we land inside. That will be all.”
She felt the ship slow down and land. They were finally inside the mothership. The doorway opened and a ghastly mix of purple and white light entered the ship.
Chris heard voices come from outside. We’re in the hangar, she confirmed.
“All right cadets. Move out!” yelled the General.
Everyone formed a line and moved out of the ship. Chris felt a sense of excitement.
Kai was out there, and she was going to find him.
***
3-3
Carlos lay on the floor utterly defeated. The air inside the top floor of the Demon Riser was cold and silent, as though it was mourning for him.
“It’s the end of the road for you, Commander,” Jake stood before him, his hand right next to Carlos’ face.
Carlos stared at the sphere of explosive wind in Jake’s palm. His legs tried to fight immense the air pressure Jake had created to hold him down. He had mere seconds left before he was blasted into oblivion.
I can’t fight the spell, he realized. I have to fight the caster.
He summoned his last bits of energy and thrust his hand out. A sharp blade of wind shot out at Jake. It rammed into him and a huge explosion shook the entire room. The air pressure over Carlos disappeared, and he tried to find cover.
A bellow resonated through the room. He heard a swish come from within the smoke from the explosion, and the gray cloud dissolved into nothing.
In the center of it all stood a dragon!
It was almost twice as tall as Carlos was. Its whole body was a bright gold, its wings long and graceful, and its talons sharp and deadly. Carlos was completely stunned.
A sphere of white light formed at the tip of its mouth and the dragon shot an immense beam of energy straight at Carlos. He dodged the beam, which went on to hit the wall behind him. Another explosion shook the room, knocking everyone off of their feet. The dragon screeched and curled up into a ball, glowing with a brilliant white light. When the light died down, lo and behold, Jake had taken the dragon’s place.
“Oh my god,” Juliana gasped.
“He’s a manakete,” Carlos muttered under his breath.
A manakete. Half-dragon, half-human. The beast could alter its life energy signature and seamlessly change from dragon to human and back, but it could only be either dragon or human, never both. Though the manakete wasn't as strong as a regular dragon, it made up from its lack of strength with its trademark cunningness.
Jake laughed, “Never saw it coming, huh?” he said. “You’ve got no chance, Commander.”
Carlos walked closer to him, “My turn,” he drew back his hand. He flooded his fist with his life energy and surged forward, ramming his fist into Jake’s chest. The manakete-man flew off the floor and smashed into the walls with a thud. The blow should’ve have knocked Jake out, but instead he jumped right back onto his feet, focused and ready to attack.
Carlos had no intention of waiting for him to get ready. He charged again and pinned him down to the floor. A bright object rolled out of Jake’s pockets and along the floor; a small crystal vial with a fluorescent green liquid inside it.
“The potion!” Juliana exclaimed.
Both Jake and Carlos leaped towards it in a desperate attempt to reach it before the other. Suddenly, Carlos’ vision blurred. Spots appeared in the scene before him and he froze as though his entire body were still and paralyzed.
“Carlos!” Juliana caught him as he was about to fall.
Jake held the crystal vial between his fingers and twirled it around carelessly, “Too bad you couldn’t get the potion,” he grinned in delight.
Carlos saw a quick shadow pass by Jake and the next thing he knew Jake had collapsed onto the floor.
“Yeah. Too bad,” Elizabeth stood over him with her wings outstretched, the crystal vial safely in her hand. Before anyone could react, she ran towards Juliana and Carlos, picking them up in each of her arms, crashing through the glass windows, and heading out of the Demon riser.
She smiled gleefully, “Boy that felt good.”
***
It took Elizabeth just a few seconds to head back into the underground tunnel from before. The real problem began when Carlos started acting stubborn about a particular issue.
“We need to head up to the surface,” he said.
“We won’t be able to do anything,” Elizabeth said. “The entire surface is flooded with an artificial ocean.”
“Carlos,” Juliana said. “I didn’t want to tell you this before, but the Aliea force field has been down for a while now. This disaster we’re seeing is not confined to just Aliea. It’s happening all around Zygrade.”
Carlos was frustrated, “This is exactly why we need to get out there and look at what’s actually going on!” he threw his hands up. A circle of wind spiraled into his palm.
Elizabeth rushed forward to tackle him, but she was too late.
A twister of wind shot upwards, cracking through the tunnel walls and leading them into the ocean. The wind hurled them as well, and in an instant they were underwater.
Carlos and Juliana made a break to the surface. Elizabeth turned back down and used her Elementa of Earth to seal the gap Carlos had made.
Idiots, she thought.
Her wings flapped hard as she powered herself towards Juliana and Carlos. She grabbed onto them and rose to the surface, leaping out like a dolphin. She spread out her wings and took to the sky, knowing that she had to find some sort of place to land. She had to make Carlos take the potion first.
She looked down. The entire surface was covered with an endless ocean of violent waves, but she hoped she could find some sort of refuge. Luckily, she could see the distinct top of a building a few miles from them.
She shot forward, powering through the screaming winds. Juliana tried to say something, but Elizabeth couldn’t hear a word she said. She flew through a minute of silence, and landed on the rooftop.
“-Carlos is unconscious!” Juliana was screaming at the top of her voice.
Elizabeth froze. She turned to Carlos. He lay limp on the rooftop, his breathing heavy and intermittent. His condition was getting worse by the minute.
“Here,” she took the vial out of a metal pocket in her suit and handed it to Juliana.
Juliana opened the vial and emptied it into Carlos’ mouth.
The antidote worked immediately. Carlos coughed hard and his eyes fluttered open. He looked at everyone, confused and lost.
“You’re all right, Carlos,” Elizabeth said.
“Where are we?” He asked.
“On the rooftop of some building” she said, “It seems to have survived the power of the Poseidon.”
Carlos sat up immediately. “Oh god,” he said. The Poseidon part seemed to have gotten to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“We have to get out of here,” he said. “And fast.”
***
Carlos looked around him. The Demon Riser was the only other building that stood up to the raging waves. He regretted coming out here. He had made a terrible mistake. He knew the waters would be violent, but he didn’t think it would be this intense.
It’s advancing much faster than it should, he thought.
He had to find some other way out of this deluge of water. If the Po
seidon got any stronger they wouldn't be able to make it out alive. He knew the cadets underground were safe, for now. The Poseidon wouldn't affect them, as long as all the tunnels to the surface were completely blocked off.
Carlos put his ear to the rooftop and listened. A hollow sound vibrated from within. He infused his fist with energy and punched hard into the roof. A part of the surface crumbled to pieces and gave way, revealing the floor underneath. He looked through the opening and exclaimed in delight. There were huge tankers and aircraft inside the building. The building’s interior was quite dry, except for a few trickles of water. The walls of the place though, were horrifying. They had been ripped apart in many places, but every crack and tear had been completely sealed by an abundance of ice.
The Zeus must have done that, Carlos realized.
“You didn’t have to break the roof you know,” Elizabeth said. “There’s an opening on the other side,” she pointed to riff on the other end of the roof.
Carlos ignored her, “Stay here, I’ll go check.”
This time Elizabeth ignored him. She latched onto him and Juliana, and glided to the bottom in an instant.
“I could have just jumped down you know,” he said. “I can use the Elementa of Wind.”
“You’re welcome,” she said and began searching around for anything useful.
“Look at all this stuff,” Juliana said excitedly.
Carlos could understand her excitement. Around them were high-tech tanks and aircraft, the latest laser blasters, the most advance phaser cannons and much more. Every single piece of tech in the building was just brilliant.
Carlos grabbed one of the blasters, “These aren’t Aliea’s,” he mumbled.
“What?” Elizabeth said.
“These aren’t Aliea’s weapons,” he tossed it aside. “I’d know if they were. They don't have the standard seal that we use.”
“What are you saying?” Juliana asked. “Is this the enemy’s?”
Carlos nodded.
“Wouldn't that make this building the place where the enemy set up camp?”
Carlos nodded again.
Elizabeth looked around the empty building, “Then where is everybody?”
“I don't know. This place seems completely abandoned.”
“They must have headed back to their mothership,” Juliana suggested.
Everyone went quiet. The thought of the huge warship silenced all the voices.
“If only we had a ship like that,” Carlos said dreamily.
“Yeah,” Elizabeth said,
“We could just infiltrate the war ship you know,” Carlos said.
“Um… how can we do that again?” Elizabeth asked. “The guys protecting the mothership should have much better tech than what they left behind. The enemy treated this tech like junk. Imagine the insane kind of tech they have back on their ship.”
“It isn't about how hard you hit,” Juliana activated the blaster in her hand. “It’s about where you hit them.”
Carlos nodded, “We use the ships they left here and head to the mothership. They will let us in once they see we’re one of their own ships. Then we find our way to the control room and take control of the whole ship from there.”
“That’s it?” Elizabeth asked.
“Simple as that,” Carlos smiled gleefully.
Elizabeth looked at Juliana, who just shrugged, “It may be simple plan but I don't think there’s anything wrong with it.”
“Sometimes the simplest things are the most effective,” Carlos added with a wink.
Elizabeth sighed, “Let's do this then,” she smiled.
Carlos was already halfway through boarding one of the ships. They all got into a standard spacecraft. It was as large as bus, and since none of them wanted to sit in the passenger seats they had to cramp together in a one-man pit.
“Taking off,” Carlos said. The ship hissed as it rose through the opening in the roof and shot forward. The soft hum of the wind traveled through the ship’s walls. It was funny how something so terrifying in one situation could sound so soothing in another.
“Where do you suppose Q is right now?” Juliana said.
“I don't know- woah!” Carlos swerved the ship sharply.
Elizabeth bumped her head on the walls, “Ow! What was that for?”
A huge 200 foot wave passed by the ship.
“Oh,” she said while rubbing her head.
“Poseidon is becoming stronger,” Carlos said. “We don't have much time left until it reaches its final stage. The Hades.”
“Zeus creates a storm. Poseidon, a flood,” Elizabeth said. “What does the Hades do?”
“Hades is the lord of the underworld. What do you think?”
“It destroys the planet from within.” Juliana said.
“What?!” she asked.
“When Hades is done with this place, there won’t to be a Zygrade anymore.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened, and she fell silent. Carlos empathized with her. Knowing that Aliea could be destroyed was one thing. Knowing that Zygrade itself was on the verge of destruction added a much more sinking feeling. Aliea could always be rebuilt, Zygrade couldn't.
“There’s the ship,” Juliana pointed through the windshield at a huge black spacecraft. The mothership lay right before them, its stature towering over the storm. It trembled as huge waves washed over its surface but it held its position solidly.
“You want to take over that thing?” Elizabeth asked. Her confidence level dropped the moment she caught a glimpse of what they were going up against.
“Well,” Carlos said. He didn't know how to boost her confidence. Frankly, he too was feeling a little intimidated by the immense stature of the ship.
“No point turning back now,” Juliana chided.
A voice blared up on the ship’s main panel. “Spacecraft alpha-niner-omega-roger. You are clear for landing,” the voice crackled. A huge door opened on the side of the mothership. Two men stood there and waved at the ship with plasma-light beacons, signaling for it to head in and land.
“This is it,” Carlos said and piloted the ship towards the landing bay.
“Umm… what do we do once we get in?” Elizabeth asked.
“Take out the guards,” he said. We can plan things out after doing that.”
The spacecraft touched down inside the mothership and the hangar door closed. A series of lights turned on, letting Carlos get a good look at the inside of the mothership. It was made of some sort of black metal with a bluish hue. On the walls hung an endless line of laser blasters and nuclear grenades. A shiver ran down his spine. If this was how well equipped a landing bay was, he shuddered to think about what the rest of ship would be like.
“Overdrive initiated,” the ship's computer systems said. The door to the spacecraft opened immediately.
Carlos tensed, “They’ve overridden the ship’s controls,” he cursed himself for forgetting that the mothership could do that. He heard two loud thuds come from behind him. Elizabeth stood in the doorway to the pit with two daggers in her hands. Carlos got up and saw two guards fallen on the floor, motionless.
“You killed them?” he exclaimed. Elizabeth wasn't exactly the ‘cold murder’ kind of girl.
“Of course not. I just knocked them unconscious.”
“No wasting time, you two,” Juliana said. She led them out, because of the three of them, she was the only one who talked with her mouth and not her fists in the face of danger. As soon as Carlos saw that the hangar was clear, he took the lead and hurried the pace.
“That way,” he pointed to a small doorway in the corner. They walked through it and into a narrow corridor. Cramped metal doors were situated symmetrically on either side.
“What do you think the rooms in this corridor are for?” Elizabeth asked.
“Storage rooms,” he said and kept walking. The corridor seemed endless. It just kept going on and on.
A quarter of an hour later, Elizabeth couldn’t take it anymore, �
�Do you even know where you’re going?” she asked.
“Do you have a better path?”
A door opened and a lone cadet stood there, a horrified look on his face. He quickly jumped back in, and slammed the door shut. Elizabeth rushed forward and tried to get through to the other side. It was no use. The door wouldn't budge. The cadet had locked it from the inside.
And then things got worse.
The corridor was bathed in red light. Loud alarms started echoing through the walls.
He sounded the alarm, Carlos realized.
“Warning. Warning,” The P.A system blared. “Intruders in cadets’ quarters. All cadets head to quarters.”
“Cadet’s quarters?” Elizabeth turned to Carlos. “You brought us to the quarters? This place will be teeming with cadets!”
“You know what this place needs? A few signs,” Carlos complained.
“Oh yeah, that way the other intruders can find their way around much more easily!” she yelled.
“Quiet down, you two,” Juliana said.
“There they are!” voices came from behind them.
“Run!”
***
3-4
Kai stared at the two figures the Brain had brought up for him to fight.
“Why am I not surprised?” he muttered under his breath. He was really starting to hate the simulation he was inside.
Chris and a clone of himself stood before him. He felt weird telling himself he could take down Kai. It made him feel like some psycho who was fighting against his alter ego.
Chris held a sword in her arms, which was also weird because Kai had hardly seen her touch a blade before. She crouched low with her knees bent, a perfect attack stance. Her eyes watched his every movement, making him feel all jittery inside. The other guy kind of irritated Kai. The Brain had created an exact replica of himself. Physically they were the same, but mentally though, this duplicate seemed to be a little arrogant.
AcQuest: A Space Opera Military Technothriller (The Quest Saga Science Fiction Adventure Series Book 3) Page 17
