T-hacker tapped the button and the cabin door swung. The Marines yelled commands and the two Chinese soldiers came out with a blind-folded and handcuffed Angel Segarra. Hands up, the Chinese went to the ground, face down.
“That was easy,” said Drew. “Almost too easy.” He eyed a building connected to a hanger a short distance away. He glanced at Mya. She was innocent, wide eyed, and scared; leaning all her body weight against him.
“Who is that?” said Maya.
“Your dad.”
Mya smiled and went for the door.
Drew held her tightly. “Not yet.”
“Why?”
“You’ll see him in a second.”
She frowned and Drew curled his fingers around the door handle. All he’d need to do was fling the door open, grab Mya, and throw his hands up as well. With Mya by his side, the Marines would make sure he was safe, make sure Angel got his daughter back in one piece. Or, if that didn’t work, he could attempt a run for it to the building across the way where he knew that by himself, with Mya, he wouldn’t be beholden to anyone.
But where would he go? How would they survive? He flashed to the dead people on the side of the road on the way here; the adults and children begging for food; people waiving guns around. It was a free-for-all out there.
He did the mental calculation and tensed his muscles and pulled Mya into his lap, ready to escape from the Rover.
“Stay,” came Drew’s mom. “There are more important days ahead, more important than your life. Stay.”
He eased up on the door. It was a stupid plan anyway.
“Get out,” said Anderle. “We show ourselves.”
Drew pushed the door open and stood on the tarmac, the morning breeze touching his skin. He set Mya on her feet. She took off in a run, too excited to see her father. Drew lunged for her, barely grabbing her by the back of the shirt and pulled her in close. “Not yet, Mya.”
“Why?”
“Your daddy’s still working. He can’t be bothered right now.”
Anderle walked to the helicopter, then sat on the edge of the helicopter’s cabin entrance.
“The Marines just let him walk into the open like that?”
“They know we sent the communication,” said T-hacker.
“What’s he doing?”
“Follow me. Let’s get our reward.”
“Reward?”
T-hacker bobbed his head up and down. “You’ll see.” He did a piss poor job at hiding a smile.
Drew picked up Mya and followed T-hacker just as the Marines pushed the Chinese soldiers into their Humvees. The Marines pulled Segarra’s blind fold off and fidgeted with his handcuffs.
Anderle stepped into the cabin, then came out a moment later. “You’ll need these.” He yelled, jiggling a set of handcuff keys.
Drew, holding Mya’s hand, stopped in front of the cabin.
A Marine stepped around Segarra and walked toward the helicopter.
Anderle folded his arms across his stomach. “No. You can’t have it. Sorry, my friend.”
“Excuse me, sir?” said the Marine. He lifted his rifle, aiming it at Anderle. “Give me those, sir. I will not ask twice.”
Anderle shot Drew a look. “We have his girl strapped with bombs. If you don’t give us Segarra, then we’ll detonate her. Got it?”
Drew shot Anderle a look. The guy was a nut-job. Screw it. He whispered in Mya’s ear. “Go get your daddy. Go to him.”
Segarra spun on his heels. “What’s the problem, lieutenant?”
The lieutenant glanced at his Master Sergeant. “They claim this girl has a bomb on her. They want you or they detonate her.”
Mya let go of Drew’s hand. “Daddy, Daddy.” She raced to him.
Segarra’s face turned white as his daughter ran under his arms, his hands still cuffed in front of him. They embraced. “Mya?” He glanced at Anderle. “You have her hooked up to a bomb?” He swept her into his arms. “Take the bomb off of her, now. That’s an order.”
Anderle snorted. “Thanks for the order, but no.”
“Anderle, don’t do this,” said Drew.
Anderle smirked. “Come into the helicopter, Master Sergeant Segarra. If you don’t, T-hacker will blow you and her the shit up.”
T-hacker held up the remote and nodded before stepping into the cabin.
Segarra lifted his hand. “Marines, stand down.” He walked forward, pulling Mya closer to his chest, worry written all over his face.
“Get in, Drew,” said Anderle. “We’ll be making several stops to refuel. We gotta go now.”
Drew shook his head, watching Segarra and Mya come closer. The girl deserved safety and her father, and away from the two clowns whose end game was to find a way to run the country. “There’s no bomb on her.”
Segarra grimaced and hesitated, then continued toward the helicopter. Drew could tell Segarra didn’t want to take the risk.
“Come inside, Drew,” said T-hacker as he sat in the co-pilot’s seat and pressed several buttons on his remote. The helicopter revved and the rotors spun.
Segarra eyed Drew and shoved a finger toward the cabin. “Get in there. If you care one iota about my daughter’s safety, then follow my lead.”
Drew pulled himself into the cabin, bending so his head didn’t meet the ceiling. He sat in a cabin seat.
Segarra stepped inside as well, placing Mya next to him and on the seat across from Drew. The helicopter lifted off the ground.
Segarra pulled his daughter in close and they hugged. Tears welled in Segarra’s eyes as he mouthed, “I love you.”
He brought his eyes back to Drew and gave him a look that said nothing less than, “I’m going to kill you.”
38
Planet Taiyo, Sector 9 - Galactic Arm, Milky Way Galaxy
Jaxx raced toward his Air Wing, one that Kiyo-zan had energetically towed in with his starfighter. He had to get his starfighter into the air before the strafe run began, before the Agadon ended all life in the city.
Jaxx gave Kiyo-zan a thumbs-up as he ran by his friend’s starfighter and jumped onto his craft’s wing, then pulled himself into the Air Wing’s cockpit. He put his helmet on, then initiated the drives, and lifted the bird into the air. “Get everyone, including the Leonians, to target the incoming starfighters, Kyo-zan.”
Jaxx tilted his ship toward the newly created opening in the city’s domed ceiling and accelerated, boosting his craft through the breach. He twisted his fighter and shot forward at an incredible speed. He closed his eyes and his body tingled. His consciousness expanded, taking him outside of his cockpit where he viewed everything as if he was the Air Wing.
He was one with his craft. He thought to bank right and he did.
An enemy fighter came into view. It ducked low, getting a better trajectory for a strafe run on the city.
Jaxx went into a dive. He thought of letting loose an Air to Air Intermediate Missiles, AAIM-5 Dart. The missile fired, in time with his thought, and his thrusters amped a level higher, keeping him and his starfighter on the same course.
The Agadon went into an oblique turn, but too late. The missile impacted the Agadon ship’s tail, splitting it into two, then ignited the engines just behind the cockpit. A loud thunderous roar echoed across the sky and the enemy craft turned into a ball of flames.
Jaxx barrel rolled through the incinerated enemy and dipped right, sending tracers across another starfighter, hitting the Agadon craft’s stern, lighting it up into another fiery spectacle.
His sensors beeped, telling him an enemy had weapons lock. Jaxx held his position and waited, trying to coax his opponent into thinking he wasn’t paying attention, that he was green, a rookie.
The sensors beeped one long beep. If Jaxx didn’t move now, didn’t stop his act, he’d be dead in three seconds.
Jaxx slowed, flipped a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn and engaged. He sent a Dart, clipping the enemy’s wing. The Agadon spun out of control.
Jaxx riddled the
next craft with more tracer fire, finishing him quickly. The ship cracked into a dozen pieces, plummeting into the forest below.
“We have a lot more coming in, boys and girls,” informed Jaxx.
“Watashi wa koko zi imasu,” said Kiyo-zan.
“Thank you, Kiyo-zan. I got your back, too. Anyone else up in the sky?”
Before he heard a reply, he spotted several Leonian mechs and ships entering their air space, ready to end the Agadon threat.
Missiles and cannon slugs flew from the Leonian mechs, whizzing past Jaxx in perfect precision and struck a squadron of Agadon fighters en-route to Jaxx’s position. Enemy starfighters erupted into a glowing mess, spattering shards of armor and debris across the sky.
“Inbound,” warned Jaxx.
A slew of starfighters exited a large Agadon carrier. They passed through a thick cloud and headed in for combat, weapons ablaze.
Jaxx evaded. He noticed a bogey breaking from formation, maneuvering in a way that defied logic; the way that Jaxx flew a starfighter.
Jaxx’s belly tightened and he veered toward the Agadon. “Everyone, cover each other’s asses. And don’t worry about me. I got this one.”
“You can’t get me, Jaxx.”
“Who said that? Kiyo-zan?”
“Zen-zen ie desu. Agadon desu.”
“It was an Agadon?” Jaxx went into a dive, entering into a long wing-over maneuver, pulling himself into a quarter loop. “I heard someth—”
Laughter filled his cockpit. Agadon Laughter. “Don’t be stupid, Jaxx. You don’t expect to think you’re the only one in the galaxy with the ability to merge with a flying machine, do you?”
The Agadon starfighter spun around, sending several missiles in Jaxx’s direction. Jaxx targeted them, sending cannon fire, turning the missiles into flaming dust.
“Gotcha!” screamed the Agadon, laughing even louder.
Jaxx went into an inverted roll, placing himself into a fast dive, changing his trajectory one-hundred and eighty degrees and rounded on the bandit’s tail. “Who are you?”
“My name is Tazadon Zindomeon Locka.” There was a pause. “Just call me Taz.”
“Okay, well...hi, Taz.” Jaxx shot two AAIM-5 Darts. One to distract and force Taz wide, the other to hit where Jaxx predicted Taz would turn.
Taz spun in a way only Jaxx could do, sending blasts toward the Darts, obliterating the missiles.
Jaxx turned into a break, moving sharply across the Agadon flight path. “Kiyo-zan, we have a problem. Some Agadon prick can fly like me and speaks in my language.”
Laughter coursed over Jaxx’s comm line again. “I can hear you. I’m on all channels, Taiyonian, Leonian, and yours.”
Jaxx pulled right. The Agadon dipped left, sending a barrage of missiles toward a different target; the back of a Leonian Mech.
The missiles ripped the mech’s external armor. Sparks flew. The Agadon let loose more, then broke away.
The mech jostled as its internals exploded. It fell out of the sky, the forest below no doubt the mech’s eventual doom.
The mech pilot ejected and Jaxx rotated, heading in the pilot’s direction. The pilot, a Leonian with white fur, striped in blacks and oranges, sat in her seat as the boosters slowly eased her toward the ground. The wind buffeting against her fur as he could see her surveying the battle like a captain surveying a map. Jaxx gasped. It was Zara, and Taz was flying right for her.
A flashback of Rivkah falling from the Taiyo sky came to mind. Rivkah was practically burned alive when he couldn’t help her the last time. He had failed her then. He wasn’t going to fail again. He didn’t want the same fate for Zara.
Jaxx aimed just above her. “Lower it faster, Zara.”
Zara complied and Jaxx shot one cannon slug after another, sending thousands of shots bursting above Zara, slamming into Taz’s starfighter armor.
Jaxx fired three more missiles, aiming beneath Zara, predicting Taz’s future move, hoping he’d get it right.
Taz banked hard, then went into an unload extension, slipping into a steep, straight dive and applied full thrust in an attempt to end Zara before she landed.
An attempt Jaxx had guessed correctly.
Two missiles sunk between the Agadon’s cockpit and tail. The tail split, spiraling Taz out of control, plummeting him toward the forest below. It crashed through a canopy of trees and a whapom! shook the heavens, sending fire licking upwards.
“Thank you, Jaxx,” came Zara. “Maybe you’re worth your weight in stress after all?”
“No problem.” Jaxx swung his craft low. “I’m heading in for a landing. We’re doing good up here and holding these bastards off. This Taz character needs to be stopped.”
“That’s a negative. I advise against that, Jaxx.”
“I’ll be fine.” Jaxx eyed a meadow below.
“What are you going to do when you find him, Jaxx?”
“End him.”
“Not a good idea. I sense his power. He’s stronger than you.”
“There isn’t anyone stronger than me,” Jaxx replied.
“That statement says it all. Pull back and re-engage the fight.”
Jaxx’s consciousness lessened. He heard a pop and for a moment, he was dizzy. He shook his head and slapped his face to get his equilibrium back to balance. He was back in his tight, inflexible body again. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to be free and outside of his body, his consciousness expanded.
He let out a breath. “I know what I’m doing, Zara.” He pressed a few holographic buttons, readying his craft for a landing. “I’ll be back up before you know it.”
“Goddess-speed, Jaxx. I’ll send someone to watch you, to keep you safe. Out.”
39
Edge of J-Quadrant, Starship Atlantis (Slipping Further Away from Jupiter)
“Dear, you need to leave the room.” Senator Ken Furr sat at his desk and tapped a button. A secret compartment in his desk drawer opened. He pulled out some documents and a pistol, then set them on his desk.
His wife touched her chest, splaying her fingers just below her neck. “What are you doing?”
“Slade is on his way.”
She frowned. “You let him through? No, that’s not a good idea, Ken.”
“He was checked. No weapons on him. I need to talk with him.”
“I’m staying,” she demanded.
He stood, his face stern. “You’ll do no such thing.” He pointed to the door. For him, her safety was more important. Yes, Slade was checked, but he never knew. Perhaps the guy slipped something past security.
She opened the door, hurt in her eyes.
Slade stood outside the door, ready to ring himself in. He smiled and tipped his head. “Donna...it’s a pleasure to see you.”
She merely nodded and hurried out of the room.
The door shut behind Slade. “This is why you called me here? To threaten me with your little gun there?” There was an air of lightness with Slade, as if he was actually enjoying this. Was it the challenge? Was he that kind of guy?
“No, I’m not threatening you. I’m protecting myself, just like I’m attempting to protect the rest of this starship and crew from you turning us over to the Kelhoon. I intercepted yours and Kajka Okbak’s communication streams.”
Slade’s eyebrows drew low. “You idiot. This is what this mutiny is all about? We’re setting Okbak up. The Kelhoon leader wants to take over Callisto. We’re not going to allow it. And, you and your men are clogging shit up. Do you understand?” He threw his arm out wide. “Tell them to stop.”
Was Slade telling the truth? Ken pushed the thought away. “I’m steering us back to Earth. You convinced us to leave because of the coming Earth changes when we cross from global warming to an ice age. If that’s the case, then why you didn’t take Jaxx’s recommendations? When we go back to Earth, and I’m saying when, because we will, we’ll implement his recommendations.”
“Really? What are those recommendations, Ken?” Slade too
k a seat on a couch and crossed his legs. He draped his arms on top of the quilted backrest. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth and winked. “What ya’ gettin’ at, Ken-dog?”
“You didn’t even read his books, did you?”
Slade wiped his pants, as if wiping the question away. “Not a single page.”
“We didn’t need to leave the United States of America.”
Slade shrugged, jutting out his lower lip. He had an air of I don’t care.
Ken cocked his pistol and stood, pointing his gun at Slade. With his other hand, he picked up a mess of pages. “This was written by Kaden Jaxx. The pyramids on earth have more power than you can imagine, just like what we’re seeing on Callisto.”
“And you’re going to tell me that we could have built pyramids and or activated the old pyramids to slow down global warming and ease our descent into another ice age.” Slade shrugged a second time. “I have better things to do. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Slade stood and turned to leave.
“Sit.”
Slade leaned back and put his hands up, smiling. “You’ve sabotaged our mission to Callisto, Ken. Our mission to save a tiny fraction of the human race; a race that will die when the Earth changes come, do you understand? Sustained three hundred mile per hour winds, gusting up to four hundred miles per hour. Tsunami’s on just about every coast. Earthquakes devastating every city, taking all electricity and internet offline, and destroying the infrastructure. In weeks, all stores will be out of food, people will starve. Death, everywhere. Mayhem. Every soul for themselves.”
“That’s—”
“You took us away from Callisto,” Slade interrupted. “Do you understand how much that pisses me off? It’s not going to go well for you. Now, I’ll give you and the rest of the government twenty-four hours to think it over and change your mind. If you don’t, there will be more blood, and it won’t be mine.”
“Yes, we turned the entire ship around. We’re going to ride out the coming storm, the climate change. There are safe places for us to live. After the hurricanes and earthquakes have their way, we’ll re-install the government.”
Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller Page 65
