Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller

by Brandon Ellis

  “Yo, co-pilot,” said Segarra. “Put us on their channel. I’ll talk to them and let them know we’re friendlies.”

  T-hacker ignored him, computing more info into the remote control.

  “They’ll shoot us down if you don’t let them know who we are!”

  “I’m in control, Master Sergeant,” said Anderle, putting the craft in a steady descent. “We’re landing at Alliance Municipal Airport. Now settle down. We’ll get back up in the air when those two fly boys run out of gas, ’cause there isn’t any room for them to land and refuel at Alliance.”

  “What the fu—” Segarra looked everyone up and down. “Are you boys criminals or something?”

  “Nope,” replied Anderle. “Us boys are not, and we need your help. That’s why we’re going to Whitefish.”

  “Put me on their channel and I’ll tell them—” Segarra flinched as another rumble filled the cockpit. “Son of a bitch. You have to let me tell them we are friendlies. They’ll leave us alone.”

  “That one was Chinese,” said T-hacker.

  “We’re being targeted,” warned Anderle, pointing the nose of the helicopter down, speeding the bird at a faster pace. “By the Chinese.”

  “Get down to the ground,” yelled Segarra, gripping his seat, his knuckles white, his forehead covered in perspiration.

  Mya squeezed his arm, closing her eyes tightly.

  “I’m not making this up. We don’t have much time,” screamed Segarra.

  “Weapons lock is on.” Anderle was panicking. “The Chinese aircraft just let one loose.”

  “Fly to the floor, pilot. Go, go! They are likely shooting an air to air missile, not an air to ground, meaning the closer to the ground you get the more chance the guidance will stop tracking you and track something else. An air to air doesn’t have top attack capabilities,” shouted Segarra.

  Anderle tilted the helicopter even more. “Oh no, we’re going to crash.”

  Drew held on to the straps around his shoulders, his fingers chaffing against the seat belt’s polyester webbing. He held his breath, his eyes wide.

  “Pull back, pilot, and land,” instructed Segarra.

  Drew couldn’t help it. He needed to know, needed to see what was about to happen, whether it be their doom or a miracle. He gulped when he turned and peered out of the cockpit window. The municipal airport’s tarmac was coming up fast, as if the ground was moving toward them as fast as the helicopter toward it.

  Anderle screamed, waving his arms in the air.

  “Not funny, Anderle. Stop,” said T-hacker.

  Anderle cracked up, pulling back on his control stick, grabbing his belly in the process. “God, I feel like a dick. It’s not April Fool’s Day, but I got you three in the cabin so good. Damn, I wish it was April Fool’s Day so bad.”

  Segarra’s nostrils flared and the muscles in his arms flexed, making the veins pop. He licked his lips, looking away from Drew. “Are you telling me, pilot, that you were screwing with me the whole time?”

  Anderle brought the helicopter into a slow hover, lowering onto its skids. “Yeah,” he chuckled. “The planes were real, but the weapons were all dummies. They’re all on our side. I asked them to put on a show, just for shits and giggles. Cool right?”

  “Don’t you ever—” Segarra leaned back against his seat, refraining from saying anything else.

  “And, Mr. Segarra, if you try to do anything to us while we refuel...well...don’t. We have things setup to really hurt your daughter. You remember, the bomb? We’re hackers. We embedded it in her underwear, shirt, and pants,” said Anderle as he opened the cockpit door and stepped out of the chopper.

  That had to be the dumbest lie.

  Segarra appeared to take it for truth. Perhaps he had to. He was her dad. That’s what dads did.

  Segarra’s hand shook as he combed Mya’s hair with his fingers. He looked into Drew’s eyes. “Whitefish is the new beacon of hope.”

  Drew tilted his head. “Then tell me why we can’t go there.”

  Segarra scooted up in his seat. “Because of me. You take me, and you bring a shit show to a good place, a place that is keeping the revolution alive. It started out as the US resistance against the Chinese, but since these spaceships have been dropping through the atmosphere and obliterating cities, it has become the central hub for planetary resistance. You take me to Whitefish, and all enemies change their target to all those good people in that city, because that’s where I’ll be.”

  “Why would that happen if you show up?”

  “Because I have something they want. Something I was trying to hide from them. Now they probably know I’m with her. And where I go from now on, they will also know that she’ll also be there.”

  “Who is her? I don’t understand.”

  He glanced down at Mya and then back at Drew. “You’ve seen my daughter’s powers, I bet. But you don’t know the entire story about my daughter.”

  42

  Edge of J-Quadrant, Starship Atlantis (Slipping Further Away from Jupiter)

  Slade stood on one leg, the other leg up in a kick, a hundred-pound bag in one hand and a seventy-five-pound bag in the other hand. He was motionless, eyes closed, concentrating on perfect equilibrium. He couldn’t think about the decks he and his men had attempted to retake from Senator Furr and his gang. He couldn’t think about the momentary cease fire. Or the fact that the ship still hadn’t turned around to fly its butt to Callisto.

  It was just him, his balance, and the bags he held.

  “Good,” said Dr. Cross. She had her holographic data pad in hand, studying the graphs, lines, and numbers, and assessing Slade’s mental, physical, and emotional state.

  Slade was hooked up to electrodes, sending information to half a dozen computers around the room.

  Cross typed on her pad. “I’m finding it’s a balancing act, Slade. You can control these powers. It’s all about your emotions and intent. It doesn’t matter if it’s anger or love, as long as your emotions are extreme and focused. What are you feeling now?”

  Slade’s arms shook and sweat beaded down his neck. “The weight of each bag is different. It’s difficult to hold still. I have to focus on both sides of my body at the same time. Put more weight in the seventy-five-pound bag, Dr. Cross.”

  She took a few paces forward, observing Slade, looking him up and down. “Your legs are fine. Your stomach isn’t shaking. It’s just your arms. Change focus.”

  Slade kept his head straight and opened his eyes. “Change my focus to what?”

  “To your arms.”

  Slade bit his lower lip and closed his eyes, remembering all the times Rivkah evaded him and his team, screwing up Slade’s plans to use her as an expert pilot, as an ally. He grunted, imagining Rivkah being ripped to shreds by a squad of beady-eyed, slobber-toothed Eridans in the Forrax constellation. His arms strengthened, balancing out, and for the first time, the bags felt like feathers.

  This power, the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and his muscles firing twice the speed of a power lifter and without fatigue, pushed a smile to his lips.

  Cross walked to a computer and pressed several buttons. She stepped back to take a better look at the monitor that hung on the wall just above the holographic keyboard. She put her finger to her lips and grinned. “You’re controlling the energy much better. Your heart rate is normal. Your blood pressure just slightly above where it needs to be.” She let out a happy chuckle. “You’re doing just fine.”

  Slade dipped his head. This just fine was exactly what he’d hoped for, exactly why he slipped Jaxx’s blood into his own arteries. He was powerful, perhaps stronger than just about any Being in the universe.

  He laughed and pictured himself taking Jaxx and Rivkah by the neck, squeezing until their eyes popped out.

  His heart beat faster, his blood pressure rose, and his hands started to shake.

  “What are you doing?” asked Cross. “Stop!”

  The bags ripped in half, the heavy rocks
cracking against the floor. Slade slipped forward, as if a mighty force had just escaped from him and pushed him down. He landed on his stomach and let out a grunt upon impact.

  “How I’d love to do that to them,” said Slade, shoving his palms on the floor and doing a back flip, landing on his feet. He grinned. “Whoa. Did you see that?”

  Cross nodded. “You lost control, Slade. That’s not what we’re attempting to do. Stay focused. You know better than that.”

  “I’m figuring this shit out faster than even you imagined. Hell, this energy probably works better through me than Jaxx. There is nothing wrong with that.”

  Cross lowered her head, keeping her eyes on Slade. “Now, listen. If you don’t control this, you put me and everyone else on this ship in jeopardy.”

  Slade slapped his hands together, narrowing his eyes. He couldn’t care less who he put in jeopardy, as long as it wasn’t himself or the mission to Callisto, or his plan with Okbak to kill all the politicians on the ship. “Got it, doc.”

  She crossed her arms and leaned back in her stance. “Do you?”

  A buzz sounded at the door and it slid open.

  An elderly man in his mid-seventies stood steely-faced in the doorway, a handful of Slade’s men with rifles around him. It was Senator Ken Furr. “Thank you for escorting the Senator. You all may leave.” The senator was a brave man for seeing Slade after Slade’s threats. Lucky for the cease fire, or Ken wouldn’t have gotten two steps past his line of soldiers.

  The troops didn’t move.

  Slade grimaced. “I said, you may leave now.”

  They didn’t budge.

  Ken nodded. “Colonel Slade Roberson, you’re under arrest for violating the Starship Atlantis by-laws and deceiving the interim government.” Ken gestured behind him and stepped aside. The soldiers walked past him, one holding handcuffs. Those were his troops. They had turned on him.

  Slade backed up. There was no point denying what everyone knew, but he sure as shit wasn’t going down for doing what needed to be done to secure his own future.

  “We have more than enough evidence to convince ten juries of your wrong-doings. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Slade.”

  Slade grabbed Dr. Cross’s arm, pulling her in front of him. He unholstered his gun and pushed it against her temple. Cross tensed under his grip and gasped. “Let me out of this room or her brains are all over your faces.”

  The soldier’s glanced at the senator. Ken’s face slackened and he motioned for them to move out of the way.

  “Smart move,” said Slade, wrapping his arm around Cross’s upper chest and guiding her through the doorway, her body as his shield.

  He turned her around when they entered the corridor, his eyes widening. Several military men and women, in full regalia, weapons drawn, lined the walls. “Hey, boys.” Did Ken have the ship’s entire Space Marines on his side now?

  Slade gave them a deadly stare, one by one, as he walked by. “Didn’t think you’d have the guts to turn on me. I was wrong.”

  “Weapons down,” yelled Ken, slowly walking behind Slade, doing his best to keep his distance, yet close enough to keep Slade in his sights.

  Slade looked over his shoulder. “Where’s the president?”

  “Safe and away from you. We know what you did to his wife. You need to give up his daughter.”

  “Good luck with that, Senator.”

  “Please, Slade. She’s just a child, a baby.”

  Slade rushed down the hall, tightening his hold on Cross. “You think I’m giving up my biggest bargaining chip? I don’t think so. I’m going to notify the Fleet Admiral what you’ve done. He won’t be happy with your actions.”

  Ken gave a quiet chuckle. “We got communications back online and I already let him know what you did. He’s seen the tape of Craig’s wife’s murder. Turns out, Lon wasn’t too enthused about it.”

  Slade came to an elevator and pressed the button. He spun around, his back to the elevator doors.

  “Why aren’t you using your powers?” whispered Cross.

  “I don’t want them to know...yet.”

  The elevator door opened and Ken continued his cautious, slow walk toward Slade. “You won’t be able to run far. There’s a camera at every corner.”

  Slade backed into the elevator. The doors began to shut. He pushed Cross out of the elevator, knocking her to the floor. He thrust his gun at Ken, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

  Ken’s head jerked and he fell, lifeless, a bloody hole between his eyes.

  The doors shut and the elevator descended.

  “Round two of the mutiny. Slade one, mutineers one.”

  43

  Planet Taiyo, Sector 9 - Galactic Arm, Milky Way Galaxy

  Jaxx ascended his craft into the sky, his body not yet one with it, and pulled into a hard left corkscrew past several Agadon fighters.

  A weapons lock sounded. A missile was inbound and coming in fast. He spun his craft, targeted the missile, and shot tracer rounds. The missile lit up in a bright light, then broke apart and fell like rain toward the ground, smoke trailing the debris.

  Jaxx flew through the smoke and an abrupt cold hit his heart, accompanied with an image of Kiyo-zan. He inhaled sharply. “Kiyo-zan, where are you?” Dread washed over him.

  A mech flew in front of Jaxx and fired a slew of missiles at an Agadon star carrier coming through the clouds. The missiles sidewinded and smacked into the large ship’s starboard, impacting against the ship’s energy shields.

  A beam erupted from the carrier, fast and blinding, cutting through Taiyonian starfighters like knife through butter and connected with a mech, ripping its torso in half, sending sparks and chunks of armor flying. The mech’s shoulder cannons caught fire and flared, blowing the head and neck clean off, leaving a shroud of debris around the mech before it began falling to the earth.

  Jaxx pinched his lips together and narrowed his eyes. He pulled in Chi and began melding his consciousness into his Air Wing.

  “Jaxx-zan, watashi wa jimen zi iru.”

  Jaxx flinched and the melding halted, his consciousness separating from his craft. “Kiyo-zan, you’re on the ground? Get back up here.” He looped away from the carrier, avoiding several blasts.

  “Nishi zo miru,” said Kiyo-zan.

  “Holy mother of all that’s wrong.”

  A giant ship, bigger than any X-class nebula craft in the Secret Space Program, pierced the atmosphere, casting a dark shadow as it blocked the sun.

  Jaxx’s chest tightened. “Send all forces to intercept and down that thing.”

  “That’s a negative. Get on the ground. We need you at coordinates 29.9792 degrees north, 31.1342 degrees east,” interrupted Zara. “We have to get you out of here. You’re our hope, Jaxx. No one else. That incoming ship will obliterate everything. We can’t take any more chances with you.”

  Jaxx shook his head. “No. We can defeat these guys.” He brought this hell upon this planet and he’d see to it to chase that hell away.

  “You have no idea who these guys are. They’re much stronger than you can imagine. Get to the coordinates or more planets like Leonia and Taiyo will be exploited, their inhabitants used as slaves, and their worlds utilized for asset building. The Agadon are just one of the negative Beings flowing through the open portals. Battles like this are raging across all known worlds. If you do not return to the portal and meet your destiny, more worlds than you can count will end up like this planet, completely destroyed,” replied Zara.

  Jaxx clenched his jaw. “This planet isn’t destroyed yet.”

  “You aren’t listening!” roared Zara. “Get down here, now! If you don’t, then the rest of the galaxy is at risk. This planet is done. Let those who perish today, and all the animals on this planet, die with glory and dignity. You must understand that there is always a higher plan, always a higher reason. It’s not for you to judge. Your job is to serve and protect this galaxy. That’s your deal.”

  “My deal?”
Jaxx hesitated, then punched in his coordinates. A knot in his throat formed. They may as well call him the ruiner of worlds. Because the title would fit.

  He lowered his craft, then shot straight toward the ground, like a falcon to its prey. “What do I do when I land?”

  “We teleport you through the pyramid network back to Callisto. You need to close the entire network or chaos reigns across the galaxy again, interrupting the evolution of every species and race that inhabits the Milky Way. It will be a huge step backward in galactic consciousness.”

  Jaxx pulled his ship out of the dive and skimmed the top of the jungle, heading toward the coordinates. He tapped on holographic buttons. The landing skids extended and clicked in place.

  Up ahead was a massive hill, covered in trees, brush, and grasses. Kiyo-zan’s starfighter, along with several cargo ships, transports, and two mechs sat at the base of the hill.

  Jaxx slowed and hovered. “I’m here. Where’s everyone?” He lowered his ship. It jostled when it touched down.

  Zara spoke. “You’ll see an entrance into the hill. Come inside.”

  Jaxx opened the cockpit and hopped out of his Air Wing, helmet still atop his head. The ground rumbled as a thunderous roar echoed across the sky.

  He glanced up, seeing the giant ship coming in closer to the city, starfighters and mechs sending projectiles and cannon fire in its direction.

  Jaxx swallowed hard when a red, fiery energy grew at an indentation beneath the ship’s belly. He couldn’t watch, so pushed onward. “Who are these Agadon?” he asked over his helmet comm.

  “They aren’t from our galaxy, that’s why they’re so dangerous, Jaxx. They’ve been locked out until now. But they were waiting, amassing,” said Abdu.

  Jaxx rounded the hill and halted when he saw an entryway, built with white and red stone. Abdu stood to the side of the doorway, hands crossed in front of him like a calm monk. “The Agadon want to prevent you from helping the Atlanteans ascend.”