The com comes to life. “Alpha I’ve engaged the unknown and I’m…oh God!”
Hard static hits my ear. I twist my machine hard, roll over at twenty thousand feet, and drop into a suicidal plunge. I say suicidal because it is against everything I have learned, to enter a backward supersonic dive.
“Terri!”
I shout into the com. The missile is still tracking hot on my trail…damned Magnatech things, never stop. I’m sure that was Terri. A gnawing sensation forms in my stomach and chest that I haven’t felt in a long time. The Neural Link between Terri and me is gone. The effect of this, like a hole dug in my gut shakes me. I hate it. I want to scream, or cry but I can’t. I gotta keep it together.
“Alpha, we’ve engaged the unknown…” Akita’s words are quick and his voice is strained as though in a high G turn “…He got Terri, and now the bastard’s on my six.”
The chatter increases as Hound comes through. “I’m on him, just hold it together”
“I can’t shake him, Alpha, get down here!” Akita’s Auto-cannon is going mad in the background along with his shrieking engine. It means that he’s backwards flying too.
“Hang in there I’m on my way…”
My gut cramps as though held in a vice. I can’t wrap my thoughts around what Akita just said. A proximity warning goes off. The missile is closer now. I’ve got to get into the fight.
“Bull…” I roll out of my crazy dive and try to outplay the incoming projectile “…where’s that rail gun of yours?”
“…Can’t get a lock Alpha. This guy is either a magician or he’s that good.”
I kill the evasive and drop straight down. The altimeter hits seven thousand feet and shows me six thousand in two seconds. I’ve got twelve seconds before I become a permanent part of this planet.
The missile closes but I wait for the digital crosshair to move into place. A little bit more…almost…I squeeze the trigger and hold it. I can feel the ground not far below. The last of my ammo leaves me and the line of tracers end with the explosion of my pursuer. I shift my vents again, they spin me around and I begin moving forward once more.
My MAV comes out of the dive with a murderous cry and a hundred and fifty feet to spare. I’m hard pressed to my seat and my vision dims around the edges, but my suit does what it was designed to do and prevents me from passing out. Akita’s signal is five miles south of my current position so I hit the throttle and watch the indicated airspeed push beyond the speed of sound.
“Bull, where are you?”
Static
“…trying to kill this thing without hitting any of our guys…”
“Why was Terri in his MAV? I told him to stay with the ship.”
“He jumped in to back us up. I wish I had told him no.”
I ignore Akita’s pain as his gunfire saturates the background of my com.
“Hound…?”
“In the heat boss…wuw! This guy is crazy!”
“Hold on I’ve got a fix and I’m burning hot…” I hit the speed brakes so as not to overshoot the action going on below, and fight the wave of nausea as the reading goes from one thousand seven hundred, to five hundred miles per hour in five seconds.
The battlefield looks like something from a bad dream. The three, enemy Light Mecha are all nothing but melted piles of black metal. The Heavy is in pieces not too far away…looks like it fell out of the sky, and a large lump in my throat drops into my stomach along with a hundred stones. Terri’s MAV is spread across the ice and burning in large and small pieces.
I shove it from my mind; I’ll have time to deal with it later. My engine burns hotter as I force my MAV higher. “Where’s that bastard…?” I see him now “…Hound, Akita, keep him busy.”
“Not a problem boss.”
I track the unknown Mecha as he pursues Akita and evades Hound. They too should be running low on ammo by now.
“Bull, get to the ship and be ready for anything.”
Static again “…Okay boss, on my way.”
After climbing to five hundred feet above the action, I push my MAV into a shallow dive to catch and match the speed of our Deepcore opponent. Akita has him following his evasive run in a large, seven mile circle, perfect for my intentions. Just a little bit more…almost there. I can’t fire my remaining missiles because he’s obviously able to detect them early and steer clear, but for what I’m about to do…for Terri and the rest of my team…he will never see it coming. I push my engine for more power and drop toward my enemy.
“Akita, get out of the circle and lead straight.”
And without question he obeys. “Alpha, I’m in the open and that bastard is locking me up.”
I watch the Deepcore Mecha zigzag Hound while keeping a bead on Akita.
“Hold Akita, I got him.” And my team trusts me as I drive full force toward the unknown; all of my proximity warnings alerting me. “Terri…this one’s for you buddy…”
“Alpha…!” Hound’s voice “…what are you doing?”
Five hundred feet
Four hundred feet
Three hundred feet
Two hundred feet
One hundred feet
At fifty feet away, I switch to ground controls. The machine fights me but I hold it, extend and then shove the titanium legs of my MAV forward.
Impact
The collision is monumental. Beyond anything I have ever felt; it shakes me to the bone. Every joint in my body feels unhinged. My head snaps back violently and I know that were it not for my seat’s protective brace, I would be dead now. The sounds of metal bending and twisting against metal bombards my ears as the thin strip of bullet proofed, protective glass around my cockpit shatters.
With the last of my mental capacity, I switch the controls to hover and initiate full power. The MAV hits the ice with thunder. Ice and snow rush by and onto my visor and everything around me, goes black.
CHAPTER 7 - AFTERMATH
“Hey Alpha…?”
I open my eyes. The room is bright with sunlight and a gentle breeze brushes my skin. I sit up on the couch and see Terri in the seat opposite me.
“Terri…I thought…”
I can’t remember what I thought.
“It’s okay Rich. Everything is okay.”
He hasn’t called me that since we were teenagers. There is something about the way he says it that makes me think, about what? I have no idea.
“How long have I been out?”
“The guys are preparing to launch so I thought I should remind you. I know you wouldn’t want to be left behind.”
Suddenly I remember that we are supposed to leave this planet. I look closely at my childhood friend. He looks younger.
“Damn, I forgot. Thanks, let’s go.”
But his eyes keep me unmoving. They are soft. His face is sad but happy. How is this possible?
“I’m sorry Cap, but I’m not flying with you guys this time.”
We look at each other and the strange feeling that passes between us is unnerving.
“Why can’t you go with us?”
He smiles “Good hunting Alpha.”
His voice echoes into the distance. His face becomes a transparent nothing and instantly, the room around me disappears and is replaced by a frozen ground littered with bits and pieces of a MAV…Terri’s MAV.
I open my eyes and feel warm tracks of tears run down my face. The soothing sound of the Mirage’s engines in space flight comes first. Then the sterilized scent of the medical bay and now I see Bull sitting across from me with a semi-automatic in his lap.
I exhale hard and try to free the fixed harness holding me in place.
“Alpha…” Bull rises at my sudden movement “…take it easy Boss.”
Holographic modules remain suspended all over me as I lie on the floating bed, monitoring every vital sign that I produce.
“What happened?”
He sets the gun down and sits beside me. “We lost Terri.”
&n
bsp; He says it as though he doesn’t want to believe it. That fist in my gut is back and it’s heavier than before.
“I know. Did I get that sonofabitch?”
“Yeah you got him but he’s not dead.”
I begin to rise but Bull stays me at the shoulder and my head returns to the pillow with a pulsing ache.
“We have him in the brig.”
“That explains the gun.”
“Yeh...” The big Military man seems lost “…You screwed him up good though. I didn’t think we’d find you alive but the Neural told me otherwise.”
“Where are we?”
“…Short docking at Starport Vycen Three and waiting.”
“How long have I been out?”
“About seven hours.”
“…Seven hou…Where’re we going?”
“Rouna…”
“Rouna...?”
“Yeh…got the order from Earth a few hours after the battle. Hawk says that we are to go to Callican and resupply, repair and await further instructions.”
I exhale heavily. I feel my headache subsiding. “Has anyone spoken to the Deepcore pilot?”
“No. The General gave us orders not to interact with the prisoner until on base at Rouna.”
“Well that’s bullshit. We’re gonna interrogate the bastard here and now…” The headache is back “…are you guys with me on this?”
“We were just waiting for you Cap.”
“Then let’s not wait any longer. Deactivate this thing and unhook me.”
********
The walk to the Hold through the very narrow corridors of the Mirage has me feeling as though my legs are not my own. Effects of the jump through hyperspace coupled with the collision. I run through what Bull has told me. Vycen Three is one of four Starports in the Vycen system, six thousand light years from Earth. Rouna is one of two planets here, two of the most beautiful known to mankind. Paradise is what Vycen translates to from the language once spoken by the original inhabitants on these worlds; and they were absolutely right about it.
“Good to see ya Cap…”
Akita is not himself. I pat him on the shoulder.
“I assume that Hound is at the controls?”
“Yeah…”
“Okay let’s get this done…” I walk into the room, head no longer pounding. The serum Bull gave me has acted quickly. I feel almost one hundred percent again.
Our Deepcore prisoner is naked and in a sitting position, strapped to the only chair in the space. Stale vomit paints his mouth, chin, and chest. From his nostrils, a thin line of blood oozes, tracing a path along his body and ending beneath his chair where it pools.
“I take it this man wasn’t inducted after leaving hyperspace?”
Akita looks to Pitbull “I thought you activated it?”
The mock tone is entirely void of amusement and Bull responds.
“…thought you did…”
I approach the sitting pilot and hold my hand toward Akita. He moves toward me as Bull positions himself against the wall behind the seat. I take a vial from him and administer a serum to the groaning man. I hate seeing another human in this state but in this case…I make the exception. We wait a few minutes until the pilot is fully conscious and aware of us and then he stares at the floor.
“Deepcore pilot…” I hold a split second but he does not acknowledge the statement “…under our orders we are to extract information from you using any means necessary and place you dead or alive into the custody of our agents on Rouna…”
Still no response
“…Who are you?”
I signal to Pitbull. The big soldier moves forward, grasps the pilot by the back of his head and forces him to look at me.
“…Easy or hard way, your choice...”
Still no response
“…I’m not in any mood to play games. Who are you?”
I remember Terri and now anger replaces the fist in my gut
“Have it your way. Bring me The Gun.”
Akita leaves the room immediately. I return to the Deepcore man before me.
“You will answer by will or by force. Who are you? Why were you on Keden? Why were you on Solace Five? What are the plans of Deepcore and their interests in Keden?”
The man keeps our eye to eye after Bull releases him and with a concentrated effort, responds
“You don’t scare me. If I told you what I know, you wouldn’t know your right hand from your left.”
The door opens and Akita enters the room again. I turn to the man in the chair. “What do you mean by this?”
No answer.
Akita hands me The Gun and I turn once more toward the chair. The tool in my hand, named simply, The Gun, is a modified handgun that shoots Truezine into the bloodstream. The truth serum, frozen in the form of a very small needle, dissolves once lodged in the body and can kill its host if they are not in the best of health. I point the gun to the neck of the naked man in the chair.
“Do you know what this is..?”
No answer
“…This is Truezine and you know what it does. Now who are you?”
No answer again.
“Did you guys strip his tech?”
Akita steps forward “…Yeah, nothing much…”
He removes two plastic packs from a slot in the counter nearby and hands them to me. In one, is a broken locator and in the other, a pair of Digital Eyes which I take from him.
“Get rid of the locator…”
Terri’s final words echo in my head. My finger squeezes the trigger and the man flinches as the red dot in his neck shows where the serum is now lodged. I watch his eyes as they begin to water and his sudden cry is pitiful. We wait for the drug to take effect. His eyes roll in their sockets. His mouth curves into a playful smile.
I ask again “Who are you?”
The smiling man looks happily at me “I am Captain James Hiram…”
“Why were you on Keden?”
“To remove the obstacle…”
I turn to Akita and he shrug’s in ignorance.
“What obstacle?”
“You…”
“You were sent to Keden to remove me?”
“Yes…”
“Who sent you?”
“The man…”
“Who is the man?”
“The man…”
“Who do you work for?”
“The man…”
I turn again to Akita. “Who the hell is, The Man?” He raises his shoulders and shakes his head.
“What are the intentions of Deepcore on Keden?”
“Protect it…”
“Protect it..? From whom..?”
“The man…”
“This conversation is going nowhere. How could you be protecting it from the man you work for?”
No answer.
“Why were you on Solace Five?”
“To kill you…”
“How did you know I was going to be on Solace Five?”
Silence
“Who ordered you to kill me?”
“The man…”
“Where is The Man?”
No answer
“Where is The Man?”
Still nothing
“What were your orders after killing me?”
“Rendezvous on Keden and lock it down…”
“What do you mean, lock it down?”
The man’s face suddenly contorts. The after effect of the drug is taking over. I need more time “What do you mean, lock it down?”
His smile and bright eyes vanish and is soon replaced by a menacing look. “Keden will fall…”
“What?”
“You stopped me…” His voice is becoming a coarse but loud whisper “…Keden will fall…Earth will fall.”
“Why will Keden and Earth fall..? How…?” I immediately think of Mirana.
The pilot’s eyes roll into the back of his head and I shake him back to consciousness.
r /> “We will lock down Keden. Take the Cyclones. No one can match them.” He’s rambling now.
“What are the Cyclones?”
“You destroyed mine…”
“He’s talking about his Mecha.” Akita cuts in.
I turn back to the dying man “There are more like it?”
“Ten…”
This is not good. One was hell but nine more? “Where are they?”
“Keden…”
“When is Keden going to be locked down?”
“Keden is…locked…d…d…d…” And with that, the man spasms and froths at the mouth as what’s left of his life leaves him in a shallow breath of foul air.
My mind is in hyper drive. I pocket the Digital Eyes and force myself to turn and walk away.
“Store him and let’s get to Rouna.”
This simple search and destroy mission has just become something else. Who is, The Man? Why did he send these men to Keden to get rid of us or was it just me? How did they know we would follow them to Solace Five? What the hell is going on?
I leave the room and stumble through the corridor to the narrow ladder leading into the cockpit. If Keden is locked down, how are we to get back undetected? Mirana…is she okay…is she alive?
“Terr…Hound…” The reality is numbing. Terrier is not coming back. There are so many emotions running wild and unbound through me that I don’t know how to feel. But I must keep it together. This is bigger than me or Terri right now.
“Yes Alpha..?”
“…get us to Rouna.”
CHAPTER 8 - ROUNA
We exit hyperspace and the paradise planet called Rouna comes into view. Its thin, white asteroid ring passes by below us and the Magnatech kicks in. My stomach tightens and feels like it is about to come up through my throat, but it doesn’t bother me as much as usual. I watch Hound sitting in Terri’s seat and wish my buddy was still here. I don’t even have a body to take back to Earth.
What am I going to tell his folks?
The rich-blue world in front of us, almost twice the size of Earth, is a mind-blowing sight. Entirely covered by a beautiful blue, salt sea under a perpetually calm, tropical atmosphere, it is a paradise indeed. It has been a long time since I’ve seen Rouna. Almost every pilot in Earthfront military service would have passed through here at one time or another. Being entirely under Earthfront control, it plays host to one of the largest Earther military training bases in the galaxy.
One of the three spaceports orbiting the planet is now in view. The mammoth diamond shaped complex hangs suspended in nothingness like a brilliantly lit, white city. The coms come to life.
“UNA Mirage…Argyle Spaceport Control has you on approach, go auto and state Intensions.”