by Dave Lemel
“Hmmm.” Todd looked around at the star marshal cruisers he was more accustomed to then back at Lombargnor’s vessel. “How come you didn’t encourage humans to build seven-sided craft? I can’t think of any in our fleet.”
Lombargnor stopped at the base of the ramp into his cruiser. “We merely guide while we educate. We do not force all of our philosophy and knowledge on beings we choose to partner with. It would be irresponsible of us to impose our will completely. It is interesting to see the many variations that are born of our collaborative efforts with different species. The Earth star marshal cruisers are fantastic. Some of my favorite in the entire galaxy. And besides,” a wry smile spread itself over the tall Bopecan’s purple face, “we have to keep some things to ourselves. Wouldn’t be wise to reveal all our secrets up front, now would it?” He turned and ascended the ramp into his cruiser as the rest of the assembled entered theirs and fired up the engines.
As the cruisers exited the hangar and began their ascent, Todd’s link vibrated. He transferred the call to the cruiser’s dash screen and said, “What’s up, Ben?”
“Just got word you all are en route. That correct?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Todd. “I see you are coming around to our side of the red planet now. That also correct?”
“It is indeed. I’ll open the cargo doors and meet you in the shipping bay.”
The transmission concluded as Todd spotted the enormous egg-shaped Vikard shipping vessel speeding toward them. He matched pace with it as it neared them and guided the cruiser through the open bay doors and on to a space on the floor beside the other cruisers. He pointed at the object near the center of and taking up a large percentage of the available area inside the cargo area of the Vikard shipping vessel. “What’s that?”
“That’s the briefing room from H.Q.,” replied Sasha from the back seat. “It’s what we flew here in.”
Todd opened his door and gazed up at the eerily black ship. It was such a deep shade of black that it almost appeared as if all light was being devoured upon coming into contact with its surface. “Where’s the Henrietta?” he asked as he stepped nearer Lombargnor, eyes still locked on the exterior of the briefing room ship.
“She will be remaining here in orbit around Mars for now. We require a ship with high-stealth capabilities for the decent to Earth as well as one capable of operating in liquid water. This ship is the correct choice for our particular needs.”
Todd nodded as a wave of unease washed over him.
Chapter 17
The pair of grown men sat at either end of a wide rear truck bench seat, giggling like children. “Remember when Mom finally caught us?”
Robin Cain’s voice rose several octaves as he did his best impression of the Cain brothers’ mother. “Sy…Jack…Rob…you know who I mean, you two are in more trouble than I even thought possible. I truly believed only your father could get me this fraging mad.”
Robin’s voice lowered to its natural pitch once again. “Fraging? What’s fraging?”
His voice elevated in pitch and sped up considerably as the words tumbled out. “I was stuck between furious and raging, and if you aren’t careful, you’re gonna…you know what: Get over here.”
Jasper’s giggle turned into roaring laughter, and Robin joined right in with him.
“Could you two buffoons try to keep it down a little?” Jerry pleaded from the passenger seat in front of them. “I’m going to try and get some shuteye.”
“Sure thing, General,” Jasper replied as their laughter subsided. Jasper leaned into the seat back and considered making an attempt at dozing himself. The truck slowed significantly, and he re-opened his eyes. As he leaned to his side a bit to get a better view out the windshield, he noticed all the vehicles in front of them slowing to a stop.
“Don’t get too comfy, anyone,” growled the stocky, middle-aged man behind the wheel. He lifted a meaty paw off the steering wheel and tapped Jerry. “I think we got a road-related issue, sir. You may not want to doze off quite yet.”
Jerry groaned and opened his eyes to survey the scene. “Yep. I see it. Damn snakes blew a massive trench right through the highway. Looks like it goes a quarter mile out to the sides in either direction this time too.”
The truck slowed to a complete stop, and the four occupants opened their doors, stepped down, and strolled around to the front of the vehicle. Doors opened ahead of and behind them as more members of their group stepped out of the vehicles they were traveling in and on to the road and shoulder.
Jerry edged closer to the nearest shoulder. He surveyed the area consisting mostly of a dusty hill rising above the highway. He then paced to the opposite side of the highway and did the same. He made his way along the shoulder until he came to the trench and stopped, staring out over the gaping wound torn through the hard, dry, dusty landscape and road.
The group of travelers began to mass near the trench, and Jerry turned to address them, standing straight as an arrow. “Remaining stagnant out in the open like this is a recipe for disaster. We need to get around this gorge ASAP.” He pointed to his right. “The west side there looks the easier path. Lightest vehicles first. Exercise extreme caution, especially as you drive down and then up the slope along the shoulder. Other than that, looks pretty decent. Packed dirt and nothing but as far as the eye can see. Eyes peeled, though, and watch your speed. We really do not need to be changing tires out here or losing any vehicles altogether.”
Jerry enthusiastically waved a hand above his head and made his way through the crowd. “Load ’em up and move ’em out!”
He climbed back up the passenger side of the truck cab and pulled himself up to a standing position. He pointed over the roof of the truck. “You two!” he shouted in the direction of Jasper and Robin. “Run down there and direct traffic. We’re gonna head all the way ’round and look for trouble spots, then direct best we can from the shoulder on the other side of the trench.”
Jasper saluted enthusiastically. “Sir, yes, sir!”
Jerry rolled his eyes as he slid down into the truck.
Jasper and Robin hustled down the gentle slope off the side of the highway. They jogged side by side out to the far edge of the trench. Just as they slowed and turned to watch the vehicles joining them, the pickup containing Jerry skipped around the side of them, a cloud of dust spreading in its wake.
“Robbie,” Jasper shouted to his brother. “You stay here. I’ll head to the other side just around the end there.”
Robin Cain replied with a thumbs up and took up position at the edge of the trench. Jasper rounded the edge of the huge gash through the Earth as vehicles of numerous shapes, sizes, and colors began flowing around the end with him.
A few minutes later, Robin followed the last truck around the trench to where Jasper stood waiting for him. They briskly followed the trench edge through the dissipating cloud of dust back to the shoulder of the highway.
“Let’s go, boys,” Jerry called from the top of the shoulder above them as they pawed at the dry dirt in an attempt to keep their footing on the slope. As the two Cain brothers set foot on the asphalt surface, the grin on Jasper’s face slowly faded. His skin prickled and his stomach turned. He approached Jerry’s side and sucked in a deep breath, exhaling it slowly as his eyes scanned the cloudless sky above. “General.”
“Yeah, kid?” Jerry replied.
“I’ve got that droney feeling.”
Chapter 18
Jerry Cooper shielded his eyes from the sun as he inspected the endless big blue sky and listened for the tell-tale buzzing. Robin Cain returned from checking on the van containing his wife Talia, their daughter and son, as well as Talia’s brother and his family. He glanced back and forth between Jasper and Jerry before looking up himself. “What are we looking for?”
“Shh,” Jasper responded.
“You hear that?” Jerry asked.
“Hear what?” Robin replied.
“Shut up, Robbie!” Jasper sternly responded.
The three men held their breath. Finally, Jasper broke the silence. “There.” He pointed at a cluster of specs vaguely identifiable as moving in their direction.
“Rifles out!” Jerry shouted at the top of his lungs. “And find cover. Everybody else, scatter!”
Cars and trucks took off in every direction. Of the few that remained, doors opened and closed as people jumped out and slid under vehicles or tucked up to the side of them opposite the approaching swarm. Jerry, Jasper, and Robin raced for the back of the pickup they had been traveling in. Each pulled a rifle from the bed before dropping to the road and crawling under the truck.
Blazing red pulses rained down from the tiny, glinting, candy-red saucers above. Screams of terror followed as many of the unfortunate souls caught out exposed fell lifeless or writhing and squirming, maimed from the devastating heat of the laser storm.
The buzzing intensified. A wave of drones plummeted like rubies from the sky, crashing into and through vehicle windows and windshields. Seconds later, the kamikaze drones began detonating themselves from the interior of the vehicles they had penetrated.
Cars and trucks violently exploded all around. Shrapnel ripped through the air in every direction. Jerry yanked at Jasper and Robin as he scrambled to get out from under the truck they were using for cover before it too was hit with a kamikaze drone.
“IN THE DITCH!” Jerry screamed as loud as he could, running for the trench. “Everybody to the ditch!”
Men and women raced for the tear through the ground and highway as more scarlet pulses showered down on them. Bodies slid and jumped over the trench edge to the rocky, uneven surface below.
“Rifles up,” Jerry Cooper commanded. “Unload as they pass over.”
Jasper noticed the buzzing intensify between throbs of his heart. The first specks of red appeared overhead and were met with an opening volley of gunfire from below. The second wave of drones appeared behind, rapidly repeating laser blasts.
Two drones that had been hit in the opening exchange plunged into the trench among the resistance fighters.
“RUN!” came the cry from down the trench.
Jasper and Robin scrambled up the crumbling trench wall and pulled up to the road just as the first downed drone detonated. Screams of agony preceded the second blast, and more followed it. Jasper and Robin sprinted for the remains of a large truck that now lay on its roof in the ditch off the side of the highway. They flew down the slope and rolled under the wreckage.
“Do you think they spotted us?” Robin’s said between heaving breaths.
“I have no idea.” Jasper shook his head as he sucked a breath deep into his lungs. “General seems pretty sure they use infrared, anyway, so it probably doesn’t matter.”
Far in the distance, a drone that had broken off from the swarm pursued a group of vehicles fleeing across the dusty Colorado countryside, taking potshots. A van towards the center of the group swerved suddenly, skipped, and then rolled violently.
“NO!” Robin Cain shot out from beneath their cover and took off in the direction of the trashed van coming to rest on its side in a cloud of dust. “No! Please, no!”
Jasper crawled out after him. “Robbie!” he called before spinning and frantically searching the skies as he ran. The drone that had been in pursuit of the vehicles stopped and then reversed course. Jasper dove to the ground and covered his head in a desperate attempt to shield himself.
The buzzing passed over, and all he could hear was the pounding of his heart and his own frantic breathing. He opened his eyes and slowly uncovered his head. Robin was still rapidly approaching the van. Jasper rolled over and checked the skies back toward the highway. Nothing above. Just the carnage beneath of what had assaulted them. What was left of the attackers themselves had disappeared into the horizon.
Jasper sat up and brought his breathing back under control. He pulled himself to his feet and jogged after Robin.
He could see Robin helping a body out through a window at the side now facing upward. As he neared the scene itself, he realized it was not one of his brother’s family members. The van was the same make and model but a different color, and the woman his brother was helping out of it was not someone he immediately recognized.
“You good there Robbie? If you got them, I’m running back to the road to help.”
“Yeah, I’m good. Go, man.”
“I’ll be back with a vehicle as quickly as possible,” Jasper said as he backpaddled away. “Got a pretty strong hunch there’s a team of snakes headed this way to finish what these drones started.”
“Totally agree, so hurry.”
Chapter 19
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Jack pointed at the single black die as it came to rest beside the cluster of green and purple ones. His long arm stretched out to corral the pile of betting chips in the center of the table. A hand snatched his forearm, stopping him mid-corral.
“Ah, ah, ah,” said Li. “I may be new at this pittsnog, but I do believe I get one more roll.”
“He’s right,” Todd said. “He’s got final throw.”
“Well,” Jack sat back and shrugged, “no chance he catches me.” He turned to Li and gestured toward the dice. “Go nuts, buddy.”
Li reached out and collected all seven dice.
“What’re you doing?” asked Jack. “Why wouldn’t you just go for the—”
Li threw up a hand, cutting him off. “Shhhh. Watch and learn, my friend.”
Li cupped his hands together, muttering quietly into them as the dice rattled. He shook a bit harder, closed his eyes, and opened his hands out towards the table, releasing the seven-sided purple, green, and black dice. Jack’s jaw fell open and his breathing stopped. Todd and Simon burst out in laughter.
“Would ya look at that,” said Ben. “Guess he could catch ya after all, eh, Stretch?”
The door of the small room opened, and Sasha walked in. Simon looked up at her as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I see you’re not doin’ so hot, dear.”
“It’s even worse than it looks,” replied Simon. “I’ve bought back in twice.”
Sasha’s hand moved off his shoulder and smacked him in the arm. “Move it. I’m takin’ your spot.”
Simon obliged and vacated his seat. “Any word from my brother and crew?”
Sasha shook her head. “Nothing yet.” She glanced up at him. “I’m sure they’re fine. Probably just not top priority to stop and find a way to chat with us.”
“I gotta be honest,” grumbled Ben, “I’ll be shocked if they make it in time. I used to make that drive all the time when I was younger to visit my brother. If all the reports are true, and most of that stretch is torn up and without access to power…” he grunted and cleared his throat. “I just think it’s a long shot, considering.”
“I hear ya,” replied Simon. “I feel like all these groups arriving in sync is asking a lot, but one or two making it on time may have a chance.”
“I have a feeling that’s Lombargnor’s plan,” Sasha said before looking up at her husband. “Get the three flanks in motion toward the target with the hope that the three-pronged assault naturally adds cover to each other. The Vikards seem a bit stretched at the moment and won’t be able to focus on just one threat as they identify them, and hopefully at least one of the three survives all the way to the target.”
“So what you’re saying is it’s just some kind of crappy Hail Mary? Two of my brothers are in one of those groups! And countless other people who I’m sure wouldn’t volunteer for some suicide mission if they were fully informed of odds like that.”
Sasha shrugged. “War is hell, honey. I mean, hopefully I’m wrong and they all cruise to their destination smooth as silk. I guess maybe I lean more cold and calculating at times. Possibly even played a part in my advancing so rapidly at mission control. Also, I’ve been in certain situational meetings with Lombargnor that lead me to believe he may be less than optimistic that all three of these teams
make it, and he may be, tactically speaking, okay with that.”
“It does make sense,” said Todd. “Tactically, I mean.”
Simon’s tongue smacked in his suddenly dry mouth. “Well, I don’t like sacrificial lamb strategies regardless, but especially when my own family is being used as the lambs.”
“I wouldn’t classify it as sacrificial lamb,” said Sasha. “Just an acceptance of high risk involved in a necessary piece of a very large puzzle that, collectively, will hopefully result in a successful operation.”
“That’s not the way it was framed to them,” replied Simon. “At least not to Jasper’s group. I was there, you weren’t, remember? That should’ve been more clearly articulated at that time. I don’t think it’s right to subject people to higher risk than they’re aware they’re walking into. I don’t believe it’s particularly helpful for success either. I know I don’t appreciate when a situation I’ve been ordered into turns out far more dangerous than I expected.”
“It wasn’t presented as a cake walk, dear. I did show up for the end.” Sasha turned back to face the table. “Let’s just leave it at hopefully we’ll hear from them soon and that they’re moving along beautifully.”
Simon inhaled deeply and let it out his nostrils slowly. “I’m gonna go start on dinner.” He turned and exited briskly.
Chapter 20
Jasper Cain attacked the hill up to the highway. He leaped up to the shoulder before pausing to catch his breath and take in the carnage. Bodies lay strewn throughout the wreckage and debris. Some writhing, some simply heaving in and out with heavy breaths, others entirely motionless. The able were bouncing from one to the next, taking inventory of who needed help, how much, and for whom it was too late.
Jasper shook himself out of his horrified trance and slowly waded into the mess. “General,” he called out, carefully placing each footstep as he went. “Jerry!” The trench. He increased his pace and spotted a stable-looking spot near the trench edge. He laid on his stomach and peered down into the wide gash in the road.