Week 45
Day 1
I called for a conference of the people who can make a difference in the coming battle. I had one my side the military officers; Major Feeley, Corporal Pedro, and myself. The Specialist are represented by Elder Cheng. Nixon and Mary Jessies; one of the two sisters. The doctors are represented by Doctor Tanaki, Doctor Sze Thing, and Doctor Moshe. The others are Philip Dupine, Tom ‘Pebbles for ex-Inmates, and ex-Guard Sani Itoh. The last was really an exceptional but the penal guards nominated him. He is a tough man and a tougher fighter. There are nine of us in the conference, like the old tale of the Nine Worthiness; we are their equivalent in New Pangaea now. We will never be able to match the bravery or conquest of the nine, but we will prevail in defending this city like they did in the code of chivalry.
We will defend the new inhabitants of the city.
So how do you defend a city against three invading armies?
‘Commander....’
‘Not now, ALPHA. We are thinking of how to win this battle.’ We were all in ALPHA’s unit and everyone is discussing options like moving the injured and children to the safer units. And how to deploy the men in the different sections. We have no nukes here, so we just had to rely on the simple rigged explosion at the Core.
‘Commander, we .....’
‘Not now, ALPHA.’
‘COMMANDER! IF I MAY JOIN IN....’ ALPHA does have the ability to shout and its loud.
But I am louder; ‘OK.’
‘There may be something which you did not asked and I did not asked myself to tell you.’ There was total silence in the unit. ‘Well, there might be something which can be of use. Atlantean’s has this craft which they travel on......’
‘You mean that there are ships here...’ I was really getting agitated then.
‘Yes, Commander. You don’t expect the Atlantean’s to go piggy back on creatures, do you? They traveled in the these small crafts. And these small crafts has defense systems. For self protection.’
‘I love you, ALPHA.....’
‘I take that as a compliment and not a physical contact procedure....’
The crafts are on the top level of the dome in what we termed as a hanger. In there are twenty of such crafts. They looked like flying crafts with wings but this are the reversed crescent shaped. The cockpit is in the middle and its seats four. And just before the tip of the crafts are two small inlet each. I peek in and saw nothing. ‘Commander, I would n’t. Its the bolts weapon system. That where the bolts comes out.’
‘You climbed in through the bottom of the craft and its always hovering as it does not have any landing wheels as you called it. Its antigravity allowed it to hover. Inside there are the four seats and the pilot seat is on the one the right. The pilot flies and operates the firing system through the stick in front. Press that button and its fires. The other front seat is the navigation and system controls. That’ where you can scan the grounds and gauge the levels of power and range. The rear seats are passage seats for the extra person. There are no switches as the crafts operates on thoughts wave when the person sits on the pilot or co-pilot seat. But there is an issue. Only those with the ships deemed to be worthy can fly it. So not all can fly. Its like a buddy system as said by your World.’
This I had to try. I saw down and the system did no start up.
‘Sorry, Commander. You are not its buddy.’
‘Look, BUDDY. I got a battle coming up and frag if you liked me or not.’ The system lighted up and the engine came to life.
‘I think it knows you well now. You can fly it now.’ I turned around and chased everyone off the craft. I am going to fly this craft. ‘So what’s next, ALPHA.’
‘Open Sesame... Sorry, I was accessing the wrong database. You will now direct the craft to go up and fly to the wall ahead.’ I did that and the craft came up slowly and approached the wall in front.
‘ALPHA?’ But when the craft approached it; the wall slides open to show me the outside skies. I slowly glide the craft out and into the open skies. I pull the stick and it went up and when I pushed it down, it went down. That’s it, I am flying now. I flew over towards where the EDS Titan’s Shuttle’s has been landing. It a fragging army there; I counted like twenty BUBBLEs, Twenty HELI-PODs and maybe fifty over armored vehicles. And I not counted the balance nine HELI-PODs and maybe four hundred soldiers armed with weapons. I turned back for base but I had to tempt my curio, so I flew to the other end. I came across two more of my replica on my front view.
‘Uh-oh. Time to say see ya.’ I took evasive action when then they fired at my craft, and I flew for the city. The two crafts did not followed me.
We got everyone who ever flew to try their luck with the crafts and we came up with only five more pilots including Major Feeley, Nixon. Jessies’ and McKay. We tried the rest and we came up with ten more pilots; all teens who played vid-games. This is absolute madness as the youngest is only fourteen and their parents are in two mind to allowed her to fly the craft. Her name is Rebecca Tones or Minty as she called herself. Another pilot was Vincent Shaw; Amanda Shaw’s son.
Sixteen pilots and two thirds are in early puberty, requiring parent’s consent.
‘Commander, in my time; fourteen was good enough to fight in the battles. Alexander was King at twenty and he was fighting before that age. Octavius was nineteen when he became Consul. Napoleon was only twenty seven when he became famous. Emperor PuYi was below three when he ascended the throne; oops, sorry he did not got to battle. But I can assure you that age is okay to fight then.’
‘ALPHA, shut up.’
How can you sleep when the enemies are at your gate? Besides starving us, we are also being harassed by their flights now. But they are not firing at us yet.
Day 2
‘Herbivore steak, Commander?’ I looked at Nixon who is the chef for the day. ‘We caught a few of them at the jungle edge. Haul them up with the W-Bots help. And apes.’
Tough meat but darned tasty and thick serving.
‘Commander, you needed in Command Unit.’
I saw it on the screen; the dark clouds and this time its growing faster. Its another mesoscale convective complex and this one is worse than the last one.
‘ALPHA’.I shouted for the computer to answer me.
‘I am still here. They are using two units to create that monstrous cloud. Only way we can sit that out is run for cover. I hope I got the expression correct.’
‘Like darned luck. Pilots, we are flying. I mean the senior ones only.’I ran for the Flight Deck.
Six crafts which we now named as Lightning are on the air. We are holding a simple formation; all spaced out with me in the front. We do not have names for our babes, so we just called it by our name, except mine. Its Poseidon.
‘Pilots, our main objective is the two nasty looking pyramids. Shoot it to gravel and hop back to the city. No heroics stuff. Leave that to me.’ I beginning to sound corny and I liked it.
‘Major, you take the ladies and I will take the guys.’
‘Going masculine, ain’t you, Commander.’ I like her sense of humor.
‘Don’t let Nixon know that.’ We both laughed.
‘I heard that, Commander.’ Oh darned comms is on all wave. ‘Sorry, Nix. Did not mean to throw you out there.’
‘No offense taken. You just not my preference.’ That drew all of us to laugh. But laughter is now not the joke as we come near to the storm. ‘We will fly in pass the storm. Good luck.’
The flight into the storm was a bad decision as we had to break formation to avoid the turbulence and lightning. So we went down low and skirt the tree tops and we did come onto the Pyramids.
‘Feeley, the one on your left is yours to bite. I am taking the one on my right.’ But I had to take evasive action as there was some cannons fire at us from the ground.
‘Feeley, you okay?’ As I turned the stick to fly back to the original position.
‘Yup, darned perv pat ma’ butt, but I am taking his off for good.’ She spoke like a true born great plains lady. She went in zig zag and turned on her fury on the Pyramid. I can see the bolts streaking in front of her towards the pyramid. The next moment she is pulling hard on the stick and turning right in an arc. The Pyramid she shot went quiet on her shots and then lights of explosions appeared on her sides. Then it was exploding in flames. It also took off a piece of the land around it. By then, I was firing my target and then I was on my left turn for home. I caught up with the rest later and we were going back. We had to take evasive action as there are ten Serpents at our rear.
‘Break! Break formation!’
I peeled to my right with the boys and Feeley to the left. But Nix read my mind and he followed me in a tight arc for the Serpents on the left. As we came in I had Nix flew under me and to the left. That may had confused the Serpents but in a dog fight, its the only one chance. And I took it; rippling bolts across the skies to take down not one but two of them. They saw my fight and swooped in but I am flying up to run. Two of them followed suit to chased me but they forgot Nix. He swung in back from the left towards their underbelly and tore it off. That four down in one move which we in sniping do best; diversion.
‘Nix, take it to the ladies. We may need to back them up.’ But on our way, we saw the Serpents retreating minus two of their numbers. So the ladies also spew their venom on these Serpents.
But not all.
Feeley’s craft has caught one in the left wing but she can limped back. That took the fight out of them for today. They now know we have flying crafts.
Day 3
‘Its not I am not telling you, Commander, but there is a hidden program in me to curtail information to outsiders like yourself on a need to know basis. Until you are cleared by the creator of my program, I can only access the areas to allowed you or the city to survive.’ Darned people making decisions for machines to control others. But I think the Serpents has not given up as yet. True to my understanding, they came onto us like locusts. Ten Serpents crafts of our equivalent came at us.
‘ETA five minutes.’ I looked at the screen. If I launched my flight, we are outnumbered five to one. Unless I launched the second flight team.
“Flight Deck now.’ My team ran for the hanger and we were greeted by ten young pilots all dressed up. And accompanied by their parents.
‘Major, you are nursemaid. I will lead the first wave.’ The five of us flew ahead and prayed harder. We came to view on the Serpents hovering at the edge of the city boundary. For some reason, they turned back on seeing us.
‘ALPHA, check all the sections. I feared another infiltration in the city.’
Pedro and his team was on it at Section Eight Eleven before they could go in. The two guards I posted held them long enough for the team to arrive. We shot dead another five more of these intruders.
Then we had no activities from them for the rest of the day.
Day 4
It had to come to that.
I looked at the large screen; and its before my morning coffee. Twenty nine BUBBLEs, twenty HELI-PODs and assorted fifty over armored vehicles on my right screen. And I not counted the balance of four hundred soldiers armed with weapons.
That’s a lot of enemies for my sixteen Lightnings.
‘ETA ten minutes.’
‘Get all the non-essential personnels/colonist evacuated to the designated safe area. We got a big fight on.’ I ran to my seat and sat down. Major Feeley took the one on my right while Lieutenant Bashir took the left. For some response, my left console came out to show me the firing trigger. I pressed it to activate the pillars defenses. The screen shifted to a overhead view of the city and I can see the thirty three pillars tuning up as streaks of lightning bolts streak out. Then the apes appeared out over the ledge and walked toward the outer ring structures. The apes left for the jungle after the threat was over, but now they have returned. They came out with their Tridents and uniforms.
They took their places on the outer ring facing the new threat.
Then the BUBBLE and HELI-PODs crafts shot their missiles towards the dome. An array of a hundred missiles was streaking towards the city. The land vehicles fired their cannons on the city.
‘Counter defense on.’ That was ALPHA.
The thirty three pillars released their bolts and stopped the first wave of fire. They are aiming at the missiles and energy Tasers to avoid it hitting the city.
Then the second wave came in with another hundred missiles. But the thirty three pillars did not tune up.
‘ALPHA....’
‘It needs time to energize up. The second ring will takeover now.’ And it did.
The fifteen pillars on the second ring tuned up and fire off its bolts. If this is how the defense works then the last ring will be tuning up soon. And then we have to wait for it to reload.
But the crafts are still there and loaded with missiles.
But how long?
‘Lightnings Pilots to Flight Deck.’
Sixteen Lightning are in formation again. This time the Inner Ring has fired off its bolts, and the crafts are coming in for their next wave of missiles.
‘This is it, Pilots. Good luck.’
When we took on for the enemies, a number of lightning bolts came from above us. It hit the HELI-PODs; five were destroyed.
I looked up and see only the open skies.
‘Commander, this is ALPHA. Those bolts are from Atlantean’s ship from the above orbit. They are back.’
‘Lightnings, prepare to attack the Organization crafts now.’
All sixteen of the Lightnings pushed their thrusters to max and headed for the Earth’s crafts. In terms of speed and firepower, we outmarch them all. But they were retreating but we still flew circles over and into them; wrecking their engines and weapons port. It was all over in minutes and some of them did retreated back.
We beat them back hard and swift.
Day 5
I met the delegation of the Atlantean’s who came down in a similar ship like the Lightnings but this one is larger. It holds a fifteen Atlantean’s representative.
‘I am Avante; leader of the ship. These are my crews. We are an advanced scout ship and I think we came on time.’ I can see they looked like us and are dressed in toga’s but the weapon they carry may not be ancient; they are Trident’s,
‘Commander Bent, Empire Forces.’ I held out my hand and Avant took it as a handshake.
‘I know, Commander. Sorry we are late but we been accessing long range into ALPHA as you call it since we came to range.Just as our translated converts what we speak and hear. I also know of your history and how you discover us. Its a wonder that the Earthlings has evolved since we left. You can say we came in time to save you and your people.’
We convene to a unit that was large enough to accommodate all of us for our discussion. In that four hours of discussion we learned little more of the Atlantean’s than we know. In the end, the Atlantean’s asked to be excused as they need to take care of the splinter group.
I also got up to expressed my thanks and said I needed to pursue the Organization.
‘Oh, the other ship had left orbit you called EDS Titan. I think they have left their people behind. Its typical of Earthling’s to do that during desperate measures.’ So we have the remnants of the Organization here.
We said our goodbye and they left for their ship, which took orbit above the planet.
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