He brought up a gun with his other arm, pushing it against her forehead.
Rivkah chopped at his forearm, connecting with several blows. It did no good.
His laugh came out of him like a chainsaw cutting through metal. “We need you and the rest of your friends as bait for Jaxx, but if I accidently press this trigger, my central cortex unit servers recording everything I do will never know it wasn’t an accident. In fact, maybe I can change the server’s orders and have you all killed. All I have to do is…”
He twitched his head to the side several times. A loud beep sounded from what seemed to be his ears.
“Screw you, asshole.” Rivkah brought her Chi up from her solar plexus and to her arms, the hot blaze coursing more strength to her muscles.
She placed both hands on the Agadon’s arm and squeezed hard. She heard a crack, but the Agadon didn’t budge, didn’t wince, didn’t do anything that would indicate any sign of pain. Instead, he laughed.
She twisted her hands, mimicking an Indian burn—an Indian burn from hell.
C-gen’s forearm cracked in two, splitting down the middle. Blue blood splattered across Rivkah’s face and down her chest. She dropped and went directly into a crouch then thrust her fist upward, slamming her knuckles against the blue man’s chin.
His jaw bone crunched and shifted to the side, breaking on contact. He dropped his gun and buckled backward, doing his best to keep his balance.
Rivkah jumped against the ridge, pushed off with her feet, and spun in the air, landing a hook kick on the side of the man’s face.
A loud pop and the skin over his temple bone split open, opened wide, and smoke trailed out.
He dropped to the blue-speckled snow and lay motionless.
Rivkah hesitated, taking a quick glance at the guy. Why the hell was smoke trailing out of his head? Was he a robot more than a biological A/I?
“Get back,” screamed Bogle. “All of you.”
Rivkah twisted. Bogle was twenty yards away, flinging invisible energy blasts at dozens of Agadon trying to make it up a short hill to her position. Abdu was on one knee beside her, holding his bamboo rifle, aiming at the incoming Agadon.
He shot once, then twice. Two Agadon jerked back, hit square between the eyes, and fell into the ranks of Agadon behind them. The dead Agadon were thrown aside by their comrades, who trekked up the hill, their guns holstered.
Rivkah grabbed the gun C-gen had dropped. It wasn’t any design she’d ever seen before. It was light, but half the size of a rifle, twice the size of a .357 Magnum, and double the width. There was no traditional trigger. Instead, it had a blue light at the back of the trigger guard.
She dropped to one knee like Abdu, aimed the gun and sighted an Agadon in the back of the pack. She touched the blue light.
Zoowaka!
The gun whirred and a silver bolt blasted out of its muzzle. The blast hit an Agadon, slicing the right side of its chest clean off. It flipped and skidded across the terrain, down the incline. Smoke rose from the Agadon’s internal engines, which she imagined pumped vital nanite blood and other shit she could only guess at.
The one-armed Agadon righted himself and walked toward Rivkah, each step landing slower and slower.
Rivkah closed one eye and targeted the Agadon’s head. Without pulling the trigger, it twitched, stood still and went listless, falling to the rocky ground.
It was offline—or dead. Didn’t matter which. The asshole was inert, lifeless, no longer a threat.
A laser ripped through another Agadon, the shot coming in from a higher angle. Rivkah looked up. “God, they’re like a tick in my ass.”
Dozens of Kelhoon stood at the lip of a ridge, pointing their rifles at the advancing Agadon menace.
Another laser, then dozens more rained down on the Agadon. They drew their weapons and shot back, then broke ranks and scattered, running away from Bogle and Abdu’s position.
Rivkah raced down a hill and into a canyon, calling over her shoulder. “Let’s go, you two. Move it.” She glanced back at her friends hoping they’d heard her, the Agadon gun still in her hand.
Bogle and Abdu pelted after her, trying to catch up.
The Agadon, on the other hand, were concentrating all their fire-power on the Kelhoon. Good thing, too. It got the Agadon and the Kelhoon off their backs. Both races were fighting over the same bounty—Rivkah and her little team here, Abdu and Bogle.
Putting more distance between them and these two dipshit races who wanted to capture them, Rivkah, Abdu and Bogle rushed alongside the rocky wall that rose a hundred feet above them.
Rivkah zeroed in on Slade, bringing up his energy signature on her internal radar. An energetic strand lit up in front of her, like a ribbon to its prize. Up ahead, the canyon split, the ribbon flowed down to the left.
“Follow me.” Rivkah pumped Chi into her legs and her breaths came slower, easier, her steps quicker. She pivoted in her run and followed the energetic ribbon that led to her nemesis. She pushed her legs faster and faster, the wind whizzing by her, the Chi heating her up.
She tensed and abruptly stopped, her boots skidding across the light snow and rock.
Abdu and Bogle stopped as well, not because they wanted to, but because they had to.
A dead end. Nothing but hundreds of feet of rock going straight up—exactly where the ribbon was headed.
Something tickled at the back of Rivkah’s neck. Someone was near and that someone didn’t have good intentions. A footstep crunched on gravel, though delicately, somewhere in the distance and wrapped around her senses—senses that her newly awakened powers had heightened, tenfold. The person was attempting to be quiet for a purpose—a negative purpose.
Rivkah glanced at Bogle’s and Abdu’s feet. They hadn’t moved. She gave a nod at her companions. They nodded back. With any luck, they had picked up on the weird energy or at least read her body language and knew something was amiss. They moved backwards, butting against the rock wall.
“Can you see anything?” Rivkah whispered. She pointed her gun at the lip of the canyon, waiting for whomever, or whatever, to show itself.
Abdu shook his head.
Bogle pointed at a lone tree overhanging the top of the ridge. “Right there. I see—”
A red-hot laser lit up the canyon, and zipped into Bogle’s chest. She gasped and clasped her arms to her bosom. She fell hard against the rock wall and slid down, slumping over.
A purple blast came from Abdu’s rifle, hitting the tree. A crack and the tree fell as if it had been sawn at its base. A Kelhoon stood where the tree had been, thrown off balance by the sudden exposure. He fumbled with his weapon.
Abdu took another aim, pulled the trigger. His bamboo rifle pressed back into his shoulder as the shot was true, hitting the Kelhoon and knocking him backward.
Rivkah rushed to Bogle’s side. She picked her up, blood seeping from Bogle’s chest and dripping to the ground. Rivkah turned to Abdu. “Climb.”
He nodded.
Rivkah wrapped her fingers around the chains crisscrossing his back, holding Bogle in the other arm.
“Where are we going?” asked Bogle. Her eyelids drooped. Her body went slack.
They didn’t have much time.
“Miracle man here is going to heal you once we get out of this jam. I’d have him do it here, but more dipwads with an appetite to kill are coming.” Like before, she could feel it: the violent rush of bloodthirsty predators who had her scent. They would never stop, never give up. They were going to have to kill the lot of them or find their way off Callisto to escape the carnage. One thing at a time. They had to get out of the canyon and save Bogle. Blood seeped through her fingers marking off the minutes Bogle had left to live, like a demonic hourglass.
Abdu placed one hand on the rock and then another, pulling him and Rivkah and Bogle up.
“Leave me,” said Bogle, her voice barely audible.
“Believe me,” replied Rivkah. “I wish I could.” They needed her. Rivka
h needed her. The prophecies needed her, so Jaxx could rid this moon, and maybe the galaxy, of the Negative ETs. The Agadon could not be allowed to take over. Abdu hadn’t said much. There hadn’t been time. But what he had said was clear: if the Agadon prevailed, unending bloodshed and chaos would follow.
Plus, Bogle was growing on her. Annoying, yes. Talked too much, for sure. A pure-grade, 100% weirdo, no doubt. But Bogle was handy, full of courage, and kept up with Rivkah. And there wasn’t anything wrong with that.
“Can you move faster, Abdu? I don’t think she’ll make it.”
Abdu grabbed the next rock and positioned his foot on a small outcropping, then pulled himself up the wall even further. “Almost half way there.”
An explosion sounded somewhere in the canyon. A Leaping Lizard—a Kelhoon starfighter—zoomed upward. A ball of smoke followed in its wake. It had been on a bombing mission.
A dozen missiles blasted from the source of the smoke and hit the Kelhoon Leaping Lizard’s rear ion drives. The starfighter screeched and corkscrewed, imploding seconds later in a cloud of fire and debris.
The ground shook as a pound echoed across the gorge. An Agadon mech turned a corner, exposing itself, and coming into full view. It raised its arm and a cannon popped up from the forearm, rotated, targeted Rivkah and her friends, then glowed like hot coal.
Wapooo!
An ion expelled from its muzzle, heading Rivkah’s way. This was it. All the failures she had in life culminated to this point—death by rock climbing.
8
J-Quadrant, Solar System - Nearing East Rise, Callisto
Jaxx had to do this—had to give himself up for the benefit of all. If he didn’t, he and his friends would continually be chased by two unrelenting races—the Agadon and the Kelhoon. Running would get him nowhere and farther away from fulfilling the prophecy, especially the part where he was to convince the Kelhoon to take his side against these blue A/I demons. And he wasn’t going to rope in any one of his friends in the process.
“Fox,” yelled Jaxx. “I’m turning myself in.” He unstrapped his phaser, pointing it at Taz.
Taz grunted, looking up at the Kelhoon, then back at Jaxx, perhaps computing his options. After a few beats, it became clear Taz was going to stay put and do nothing.
Zara squeezed Jaxx’s shoulder, her voice low and urgent. “You’re doing no such thing. We work as a team. We can escape this.”
“That’s what I’m intending,” responded Jaxx, continuing to glare up at Fox. “In fact, I’m intending to end this all for good.”
“We must go, Jaxx,” cried Zara. “In order to fulfill the prophecy, we must do it together. You can’t do it alone.”
“Don’t move, Jaxx,” growled Fox from atop the rocky crest. He gestured to several Kelhoon troops. They nodded and jogged out of view.
Jaxx figured they were heading down to put him and his buddies in energetic cuffs. What they’d do to Tazz, he didn’t know. Hopefully they’d experiment on the guy, find a detonation switch in his CPU that blew every Agadon to fragments the size of computer chips. Dream on, he thought. Nothing is that easy.
“Naze watashitachiha jibun jishin ni kawatte imasu ka?” asked Kiyo-zan, his cape blowing in the wind, his weapon ready.
Good. He was alive, and now standing.
“We are not turning ourselves in, Kiyo-zan. I am turning myself in.” Jaxx tapped his wrist. “Get your shield ready. On my mark, cover yourself and Zara.”
“Are you fleeing?” Taz laughed, resting his hand on his holstered gun. “You cowards.”
“Cowards?” An image of Taz escaping from Abdu back on planet Taiyo entered his mind. Abdu had held Taz at bay and, when the chips were down, Taz had turned tail and run. “We are no more a coward than you.” Jaxx smiled. A pricking sensation at the base of his skull told him there were more than just Kelhoon lizard slime in the area. The Agadon were near as well. “When did you call more of your friends?”
“Very perceptive, Jaxx. Yes, I called them a few minutes ago. They’re around, waiting for my orders. And…”
The Kelhoon that Fox had ordered down into the canyon rounded the bend.
Taz continued, though speaking to his team. “Eg, eg unit sug-nine, commence attack.”
Jaxx pushed Zara behind Kiyo-zan. “Don’t let her go.”
Zara shoved Kiyo-zan away. “Rethink your actions, Jaxx. Be wise. Two heads are better than one.”
“Go, find Rivkah and the others,” ordered Jaxx.
Zara whipped her tail, anger spreading across her face. “Our job is to keep you alive, not the other way around, peach-fuzz.”
“Your job is to keep me alive until I give my life for Callisto and the rest of the galaxy. That’s fine, but you mentioned another prophecy which indicates we must turn the Kelhoon to our side, if we’re going to win the war against evil. And, that’s what I’ll be attempting. Otherwise, we won’t fulfill any prophecy.”
Zara gritted her teeth. “Yes, but do it with us, not by yourself. This lone path will only lead to misery.”
Jaxx gave Kiyo-zan a look, and the Taiyonian warrior gave a slight bow. He stepped in front of Zara and lifted his wrist.
Shooooooz!
A shield materialized from Kiyo-zan’s arm bracelet.
Zzzzshwop! Zzzzshwop!
Agadon soldiers in full armor, huge rifles mounted on their shoulders, rushed up the canyon, ion chargers blazing. The blasts ripped apart the edge of the ridge, dropping rocks the size of bricks to the canyon floor. The Agadon were a ways away, but with their speed they’d be swarming Jaxx’s position soon enough.
Ion charges rocketed over Jaxx’s head. The portion of the ridge where Fox stood erupted, rock splintered outward. Several Kelhoon plummeted, screaming, to their deaths.
Fox, that cunning bastard, leaped back just in time and disappeared beyond the cliff’s lip.
The Kelhoon had retreated to a safe distance, but that didn’t slow their assault on the Agadon. Ion fire rained down, riddling the enemy as they pressed forward. Jaxx grinned. Though he’d done nothing to make it happen, the Kelhoon were already on his side.
The battle raged all around them, giving Zara and Kiyo-zan enough cover to escape down a ravine. Kiyo-zan’s shield kept them safe from any errant shots. Zara dug her feet into the ground, trying to stall Kiyo-zan and get to Jaxx, but Kiyo-zan kept her moving.
Jaxx needed to be captured by the Kelhoon, and quickly. First, he had to get away from Taz. He pulled his gun close and slid along the side of the wall.
“No, you don’t,” said Taz, slamming Jaxx in the side with the butt of his weapon.
Jaxx absorbed the blow, grabbed Taz’s arm, and spun away, forcing Taz toward him. He let loose with an overhand punch, knocking Taz to the ground. He twisted around. Agadon were bearing down on them. He couldn’t stand and fight, not with those odds.
He turned and dashed toward the hill that led up to the gorge’s upper ridge, where the Kelhoon were busy popping shots off at the mass of oncoming Agadon warriors. He reached the base of a hill.
He ran with all his might, his feet sinking into the heavy snow. The Chi activated, this time without his conscious doing, and bounded him faster up the hill, taking long strides, placing each footstep perfectly on the ground like a snow leopard after its prey. Reaching the top, he found a throng of Kelhoon waiting for him, guns drawn.
He dropped his weapon and raised his hands.
A Kelhoon walked forward. The slitted pupils in the center of his eyes contracted. “Wokjaha Kaja.”
Jaxx put his hands out. The Kelhoon soldier reached behind his back, grabbing something from his satchel that was clipped to his belt. He pulled out two gold cuffs and slapped them on Jaxx’s wrists. The cuffs vibrated and an energetic chord shot out of each inner cuff, connecting together.
“Welcome, brother.”
Jaxx craned his neck, seeing his brother, Richard Fox, behind a gang of Kelhoon, a smirk on his face, a hateful gleam in his eyes.
9
E-Quadrant, Solar System - Whitefish, Montana
“They’re getting through the lines,” yelled a Marine running past Drew, alarms in the city blaring, making it very difficult to hear anything but the whining sounds.
Drew jumped to the ground, his eyes wide, his heart pumping. “What lines? Where are the lines?”
Bratatatatatat ratatatatat! Bratatatatatat ratatatatat!
Machine guns echoed at the edge of the city. People ran from bar or store to God-knows-where…probably to their homes. Drew, on the other hand, was out of luck. He had no home to go to.
“What are you doing? Get over here.” Megan waved him over to her bar.
Drew dashed her way.
Her face changed from fear to confusion. Her frown deepened and her forehead crinkled. “What are you doing?”
“You were calling for me to come over,” responded Drew, out of breath, his face flushed red.
She glanced at his gun and shook her head. “No. Not you. I was calling him.”
Drew looked over his shoulder. An older, bigger man ran in his direction. Drew glanced back at Megan, giving her a hopeful gaze.
She sighed, her breath forced, her hand pointing inside and to the back of the bar. “Alright… get your butt in there.” She opened the door wider, letting her friend barrel in, practically bulling Drew over.
“Go, go.” Megan pushed both Drew and her friend forward.
Drew followed the big man down the bar’s basement stairs. They ducked as they turned a corner down the staircase, reaching another set of stairs.
Cold, damp air hit him bringing with it the unmistakable stench of mildew. He heard a door shut, then a lock latch. For a second, everything was pitch dark, but Megan clicked on the bare bulb that hung overhead then pulled a rifle from the gun rack. She threw the rifle to her friend, who caught it, cocked it and wiped the sweat pouring off his face.
“Drew? Do you know how to use that gun? Because you’re holding it like a rookie,” said Megan.
Drew fidgeted with the gun, shaking his head. “I’m a novice.”
The Complete Atlantis Series, Books 1 - 5: Ascendant Saga Page 75