The uprising is now in full effect. The streets overrun by citizens carrying makeshift weapons, some only armed with stones and knives to engage in pitched battles against Quadrotors and androids. Above, several NEA Battleships, spirally and pointy in design, target the bot operated security installations. VanWest’s upload and rousing speech providing the fuel to ignite the citizens into action, now helped by the arriving rebels.
In the distance, smoke rises from the buildings on either side of the tall Enforcer HQ in Mid-City. Captain Kun-lee likely having already retreated there.
‘VanWest, pardon me, I haven’t completed an introduction, this is the head of the NEA in Queen Elizabeth’! Dr VonHelmann introduces Pretoria.
Very much angered by VanWest’s involvement in the NEA leader’s death in ColaBeers, Pretoria isn’t so welcoming, ‘This make no friendly greeting, you make my friend tortured in ColaBeers and then killed’.
Dr VonHelmann, keen to ease the tension, answers, ‘Thank you for getting us out of the Colosseum, but I ask you not to blame VanWest. He only followed orders. Let us not lament but praise those sacrificed. Let us trust in Utopia and in this New Beginning it brings us’!
VanWest inserts the Colonel’s chip, in one of his nodes behind his ear, adds, ‘Pretoria, I did not understand their evil. Even what evil was. But I need your help to stop Dr King. The Enforcer Colonel, Cornelius, warned that the Space Army would amass in Mars, and gave me coordinates to a secret base… in Arcadia, near a volcano named Alba Mons. I can find him’.
A surprised Dr VonHelmann interjects, a hint of concern in his voice, ‘Alba Mons? I know of it. There was a base there once… I thought it to be abandoned long ago’.
‘Get me to Mars undetected, and I will kill Dr King’, VanWest offers, looking at both Dr VonHelmann and Pretoria for their support.
‘Doctor, me make not help this Enforcer. Me need ships in the air, fighting here’! Pretoria objects, pointing up to his Battleships now crisscrossing the skies. Moreover, he doesn’t trust the words of an Enforcer, changed or not.
Dr VonHelmann pushes him to reconsider, his tired face more serious and frowned, ‘Pretoria! VanWest can destroy the Council… Dr King. Trust in Utopia and thus him’!
Pretoria is one of a rare few NEA rebels to not heed Utopianism, at least not so doggedly. He looks unconvinced at the idea of working with VanWest.
‘Yes, Pretoria. You MUST trust’! Iris appeals.
Her pleas seem to work better, their bond is closer, having worked together on the ground in Queen Elizabeth for many years, ‘Ok Doctor, I can make trust. Contact in New Jersey help. Speak funny Warlord called Method A. Make to New Jersey first, then make to Mars second on cargo ship’.
‘Thank you’! Dr VonHelmann replies.
‘Make fast, they make unspeakable revenge on citizens if not’.
‘Thank you’! Iris hugs Pretoria, ‘Take good care of my father, ensure he gets medical attention, before anything else’.
Pretoria nods and then signals over a blackened out hovercar that waits across the street. Its gull-winged doors lift open, and a man with pointy ears peers out. Dr VonHelmann recognises him, as does VanWest, albeit for a different reason, for it is one of the Universal Council’s Most Wanted, Charlie LeSouris ‘the Hacker’. A small U tattoo under his right ear, indicating that he too is a Utopian. It seems not all the high-ranking Utopians have been killed after all.
‘Praise be to Utopia! Is that you? You my favourite geek, you finally show thyself’! Dr VonHelmann greets his friend, but calls him out too for not being there for the leap to the ‘New Beginning’.
He jokes, his voice though sad, ‘Unlike some, I am too clever to walk into an Enforcer trap, you old fool’! Looking a little more sombre, ‘My friend, they surrounded the bunker and blocked all communication channels. I could not hack my way through to send a message’.
‘It was for the best you were not there’! Dr VonHelmann commiserates. They pause for a moment to think of all those lost in the last few days, including the martyring of Cisco ‘The Inquisitor’ and Lexi LuLu ‘The High Priestess’.
‘This was not in vain’! Dr VonHelmann adds.
VanWest knows he needs to tell them what happened, that these lives need not have perished, ‘It was the Seductress who betrayed you. Dr King was tracking you for a long time. She told them of the bunker. She also murdered Ankit, your Utopian priest’.
Dr VonHelmann returns a look of disbelief, in 700 years has he rarely been betrayed by one so close, especially by a dedicated Utopian.
Iris explains further, ‘Yes, father! She brought me back to Judgment day, not VanWest’!
Dr VonHelmann shakes his head, left speechless, with Pretoria the first to respond, now even keener to help, ‘That make me sad… We must make trust in each other now. LeSouris make it to New Jersey, to Method A, warlord make help VanWest to Mars’.
LeSouris is keen to help too and knows Method A well, ‘My friends, I agree. If Mars holds this New Beginning, I will help... This warlord and casino boss, we work together before, she have many cargo ships for smuggling’!
Dr VonHelmann nods and turns to Pretoria, ‘Thank you for all you have done today. I will join you to lead the insurrection here, so we can muster a fleet to aid VanWest on Mars. There, we will finish the Space Army once and for all. Trust in Utopia’!
‘I make yes! We sort out Queen Elizabeth first’, Pretoria agrees, signalling a second waiting black hovercar to come over. Whilst he is not a staunch adherent to Utopianism, he is well respected and trusted. By a twist, if it were not for his lack of belief, he might have been at the Utopian bunker and not be here to support them now.
Dr VonHelmann takes Iris’s hand, ‘My love, I will take you to a safe house, we can then coordinate plans to organise an army from Earth’s new resistance. The citizens, Utopians and NEA rebels’.
An annoyed Iris pulls her hand away, ‘Father, no… I’m going with VanWest’!
‘But, my love, you cannot! I nearly lost you in the Colosseum, I can’t bear to see you in harm’s way again’, Dr VonHelmann pleads, as a father does for his daughter, wanting to protect her.
‘It’s my choice’! Iris protests.
VanWest sides with Iris, he wants her by his side, ‘Iris has my vote. She infiltrated Ward B successfully as Nurse Rose. Her infiltration skills will be invaluable’.
Dr VonHelmann’s words have also triggered an idea that could help to bolster Earth’s resistance army. Captain Kun-lee owes VanWest honour for saving his life. He thinks Dr VonHelmann can call on this, given Colonel Cornelius’s call to the Enforcers of Queen Elizabeth to join as well. Requesting Kun-lee to facilitate ceasefire talks, maybe even a new alliance with the Enforcers.
‘Yes! Exactly! Papa, I’m going, and that’s final’, a stubborn Iris tells him in a firm tone.
‘Do not worry, she will be safe with me’, VanWest reassures.
Dr VonHelmann is left with no option but to relent, replying in a firm tone of his own, ‘VanWest, I will hold you to that’.
Giving one final fatherly advice to Iris, ‘My love, if it must be, then it comes with one condition… on the first sign of trouble, you must run. Agreed’?
‘Agreed’! Iris smiles, her fingers crossed behind her back.
It’s time to go. As Iris goes to bid Pretoria farewell, Dr VonHelmann shuffles over to VanWest. Taking him to one side, he asks, ‘By any chance, do you have still a Quantum Communicator’?
VanWest nods and hands it over to him.
‘Very good’! Dr VonHelmann fiddles with the controls, resetting it so it cannot be tracked and then reprogramming, ‘To contact us, enter the code 0-1-0-3-4-5-8-9-X, I repeat 0-1-0-3-4-5-8-9-X. This is our secret channel, if you send a message, only I and those I share it with will see it’.
VanWest makes his suggestion, ‘Dr King made a massive error in killing Colonel Cornelius. This is my and the Enforcers’ hero. They are in shock, now is the time for dialogue with them’.
&nbs
p; Dr VonHelmann looks at him, intrigued to hear more. Moving slightly further away from Iris and Pretoria, he urges VanWest to reveal more, ‘Go on’.
‘Did you see the Enforcer, Captain Kun-lee? Standing beside the Colonel in the gilded stand’?
‘I saw, yes’, Dr VonHelmann replies.
‘He owes me his life. There is honour between us. You know of the Enforcer code of honour’?
‘Of course, yes’. VonHelmann has not only heard of the Enforcer’s unbreakable code of honour but was also there at its creation.
‘Call it in my name… Kun-lee is at the Enforcer HQ, ask him to grant you an audience with the higher-ranking Enforcers, Colonel Mason and Mathieu. The Enforcers will listen, they have seen Alpha, they have heard Colonel Cornelius’s call. The Colonel knew, as do the other Colonels, that the Council seeks to replace the Enforcers with Space Soldiers’.
‘VanWest, be assured that I will. This can be a New Beginning for the Enforcers as well. They will have an opportunity to become free Enforcers in Earth’s new resistance army, may it be called E-a-R-A. Praise Utopia’! Dr VonHelmann answers with a big smile, excited at the prospect of Enforcers joining the resistance. VanWest hopes that Kun-lee will have enough courage to honour his request.
Dr VonHelmann, in a lower voice, warns him about this base he now leaves for, ‘VanWest, these coordinates the Colonel gives. Thy origins are there. I worry to tell thee’.
VanWest heard the same warning from the Colonel, and also in a low voice replies, ‘I played the chip you gave, I saw what happened to Van der Westhuizen. I saw a lab and the cribs. I remember it all. This is not from the moon, it is from this place, correct’?
Dr VonHelmann grabs his hand, trying to make it look as if they are wishing each other goodbye, ‘You know now of the betrayal of thy people. I once saw Utopia on Mars… the Council only a threat. This ginger-haired man, their Head of Science, Doctor Minus Schuurman has another lab there, but I warn… Only wickedness resides inside’.
Squeezing his hand harder, he adds in a chilling voice, ‘Kill them all’!
With encouragement from Iris, Pretoria reluctantly walks over to VanWest, extending his hand. Pretoria’s mixed feelings still very much apparent as he squeezes tightly. He then goes to help Dr VonHelmann to the second waiting hovercar, who immediately tells him of VanWest’s recommendation that they must seek out Captain Kun-lee to invoke the code of honour and try to persuade the Enforcers to join Earth’s resistance army, EaRA.
The truth is stark, if the Space Army led by Four-star General Vladimir amasses then everyone’s life will be in peril. The EaRA needs more allies to counter and fight them, whilst hoping that VanWest can find and kill its ultimate leader and mastermind, Dr King.
VanWest too contemplates Dr VonHelmann last words, ‘Only wickedness resides there’. He is both fearful and curious as to what he will find.
Supported by Iris, he limps inside LeSouris’s hovercar where he is welcomed by a silver pincher device. Before he can ask any questions the pincher jabs him several times, disabling any foreign object that could be used to track them. LeSouris has been named ‘the Hacker’ for a good reason; adroit at circumventing the Council and their security, he knows well how not to be found and he’s not going to take any risks here.
As the door slams shut, the vehicle spins and accelerates rapidly towards the highway, moving swiftly through the black smog and away from any bots. In the skies above, more NEA Battleships have entered the fray, with deafening shot after deafening shot ringing out - boom, boom.
With the probing complete, Iris sets about healing VanWest’s leg wound. With an old-tech medical kit, she smears a convalescing cream on the wound and wraps it an aluminium bandage. She also rubs some on his broken ribs. VanWest returns her help, rubbing some of the ointment over her wounded neck, instantly relieving the pain and redness.
Thanks to LeSouris’s speedy driving they are soon inside the Warehouse District where he pulls into an inconspicuous storage unit. Its magnetic door opens to reveal a hangar about 30-feet tall, strangely though there is no ship inside, stacked instead full of black crates. VanWest gives Iris a confused look.
However, as LeSouris drives further inside, the crates start shifting, slowly transforming into a circular craft with a red eye on top. It was all just an illusion, a clever disguise. This ability to hide is one of the reasons the NEA and Utopians have been able to operate so effectively in the settlements.
The craft is very old, a throwback to the times of primitive transporters. Its build a stark contrast to what VanWest is used to, the ultra-modern and dynamic Enforcer patrol ships. Its frame is round and cumbersome, neither sleek nor dynamic. It has holes for windows, covered by black metal shutters and re-enforced glass, with no electric shield to protect itself. Furthermore, there is no transporter beam to enter inside. Instead, they must use a pull-down hatch. The gulf in technology between this craft and an Enforcer patrol ship so very large.
LeSouris presents it proudly, cracking a light-hearted joke as he does, ‘VanWest, I introduce you my oldest friend, well other than Iris’s father! He is Hawkeye… Do not judge by appearance, he is like me, he is more spritely than any half his age’!
‘Ah, the handsome Hawkeye. So glad to make your acquaintance again’! Iris answers with a smile, having been on this craft before.
‘How old is this rust bucket? It must be four hundred, five hundred years old… Is it even safe to fly’? A flabbergasted VanWest inquires, causing Iris to grin. Quite concerned as to how it will get them to New Jersey as Pretoria instructed.
‘My friend, in fact, yes! His age, you may perceive weakness, but no, no, it is great strength! You see, he has prototype cloaking technology and engine, undetectable to Universal sensors. It can fly undetected’, LeSouris explains.
‘It is green tech, it charges by sunlight’, Iris explains more plainly.
Hawkeye’s green technology makes it a real Utopian favourite. Unlike many crafts before and after, it does not emit radioactive gamma particles. By using green technology, it can circumvent the Council’s sensors, more tuned to pick up spikes in radioactive particles, allowing LeSouris to move between settlements without being spotted.
‘Ok, wonderful! Another question, will we suffocate to death before we get to New Jersey’? VanWest asks sarcastically, the cockpit so very small.
‘Shut up! And take a seat’! A still grinning Iris nudges him.
They pull down the hatch and squeeze inside one by one. LeSouris hands a grateful VanWest a white jumpsuit along with some all-terrain boots from the rack. Having arrived semi-naked from 1998 Florida, his chest has reddened from the high heat levels and radiation prevalent in Queen Elizabeth.
‘Ah, you look civilised now’! LeSouris jokes.
Iris and VanWest take a much-needed moment to relax on their chairs. Not only have they travelled through time, but they have also dodged death a number of times both in the past and the present. LeSouris hands them both some capsules, full of vitamins and proteins. For VanWest, a welcome change from the high sugar diet of 1998 Florida. At least this doesn’t give him a stomach-ache.
Trying to be helpful, VanWest offers, ‘By the way, I still have my Moggle X. It will notify me of any approaching Enforcer ships’.
LeSouris gasps, ‘No! I thought my pincher take it. Switch off immediately. No electronic devices, Universal monitor pick it up’.
VanWest nods, somewhat embarrassed, ‘Not a problem’.
‘Ok, lady and gentleman sit back and enjoy the ride. We’ll be in New Jersey in no time’, LeSouris activates stealth mode and starts the engine.
Hawkeye shakes violently as it readies to launch, the storage unit’s roof opening, VanWest copies Iris and LeSouris, who hold onto their seats. The craft powers up and thrusts up into the sky.
VanWest takes Iris’s hand as the stealth craft stabilises. Peering through the shutters, they are shocked to see the capital, Queen Elizabeth, in ruin. Many of its transportation hubs and
skyscrapers having been flattened and reduced to smouldering rubble. Even the once green and iconic Vitali Sun Terra, a symbol of the capital’s opulence and greatness, burns. This ‘New Beginning’ in full flow, its success, a new age for Antarctica and Earth, now rests at least partially on their shoulders.
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VanWest
The Present
FIRST EDITION
ISBN: 978-1-8380561-2-4
Out July/August 2020
Book 2 in VanWest Series
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VanWest The Past - British English language edition.
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The Past Page 19
