Three days had passed since she spoke with Trevor at the estate; three days since he had embraced her. In that embrace she had felt a wave of warmth and regret from him. She saw clearly that he still cared for her; longed for her the way she wanted desperately to be with him. Yet something held him back.
Whatever I did, it wounded him so deeply that he denies his feelings; he rejects me even though he still loves me. My God, what did I do?
In frustration, Nina reached to her head and yanked off the black beret and slapped it against her thigh.
“Ain’t it ‘bout time you hit the road?”
Nina swung around and saw General Jerry Shepherd standing in the stairwell door.
He took one step into the room, removed his cowboy hat, and asked in a fatherly tone, “You okay, Nina? What’s wrong?”
Her lips moved but she suppressed the urge to ask. She had grilled him often over the years. Each time he evaded her questions. Each time—she now knew—he lied. Apparently the depth of her sin against Trevor required no one speak of it.
“Yeah, yeah I’m okay,” and she began fitting on her gear starting with the short sword which she strapped to her leg, then Interceptor body armor. “Just, you know, going over the whole thing again.”
Nina fit on a shoulder holster holding a MAC-11 machine pistol
“Not much to go over,” Shepherd stood next to her and leant a hand as she struggled into the heavy backpack. “You’re getting dropped behind the lines and then you hit targets of opportunity.”
She did not react to him. Instead, she checked the clip in her Colt M4 and slammed it back into place with more force than required, then jammed her beret into a pocket in favor of a Kevlar helmet. Her ponytail still managed to peak out behind.
She buckled the last piece into place: a thigh rig holding a powerful semi-automatic Desert Eagle handgun.
“I guess I’m ready,” and she stormed out of the room in big steps. The arsenal of firepower on her person jingled and clinked as she walked.
Her obvious anger took Shepherd by surprise. He put on his Stetson again and followed.
Clouds of black, oily smoke drifted across the distant horizon to the northwest of the base. Nina heard the thud and crack of far off explosions. A trio of Apache attack choppers buzzed across the tarmac hugging the ground as they hurried to join the rearguard action taking place along the railway tracks outside of Colwich.
The runways of McConnell had taken multiple poundings from enemy hammerhead bombers. The first serious hit had come on the day of Trevor’s visit last Tuesday. By Thursday—when Trevor held the ‘last’ meeting at the estate—General Casey gave up on trying to keep the runways operational. Several heavy cargo planes were left to die and the remaining supplies and materials moved out via helicopters and ground transportation.
On Friday—while Trevor and JB boarded the Newport News—General Casey Fink pulled out his HQ unit and made for Kansas City.
The first artillery bombardment from The Order’s warped batteries came yesterday—Saturday—chasing away the last of the garrison. Now the base made one last contribution to the war effort by serving as a transfer point for the Dark Wolves.
A UH-60 Blackhawk sat between bomb craters with its rotors spinning. This particular transport wore extra external fuel pods. Nina spied the other three members of her Dark Wolves commando team onboard as well as several K9s waiting patiently for their Captain. An Eagle transport parked on the other side of the Communications Center stood ready to spirit away General Shepherd.
Nina left the building and walked across the pavement, careful to avoid a piece of metal remaining from one of the many burned out airplanes.
“Nina! Whoa, hold up a sec,” and she stopped at the sound of Shep’s voice.
The wind from the rotors blew around debris and dust causing her to lower goggles strapped to her helmet.
Shep approached Nina, squinted in the wind, and examined her as if searching for injury. She returned his gaze with a stiff lip and narrow eyes.
Shep spoke in a voice barely loud enough to reach above the rotors, “This is it, you know. The final battle. Win or lose, it ends here.”
Nina answered in a soft shout, “I know.”
“I’ve always been proud of you, Nina. I guess it’s no secret that I think of you as that daughter I never had. I’m sorry if I was tough on you in the old days. You know, during your training and all. But I always knew you could be the best so I felt I had to push you. I figured that was the only way to get through that stubborn noggin’ of yours.”
Nina knew Shep to be right: this was the last mission. Odds were pretty good that she would never see him again. Despite plenty of self-confidence, Nina knew she would be operating far away from any support with only air drops and radio messages as assistance. In addition to The Order’s marching army, she would have to contend with all manner of hostile predators as well as groups of Mutants, Wraiths, and Roachbots swarming the countryside slaughtering stragglers and mopping up human resistance in the wake of Voggoth’s offensive.
All that lay in front of her and she knew this was probably the last time she would see Shep, a man who had been like a father to her for years. Could she just fly away, angry with him? No, but she could not pretend that she still believed the lies.
She burst loud enough that he could hear pleading in her words above the racing rotors, “What did I do? Shep! What did I do to chase him away?”
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“Trevor and I—we were—we were together. I saw it, Shep. Look, I have pictures. I know it with all my heart. But something happened—“
“Now, now, Nina, that’s not—“
“Something happened and he didn’t want me anymore. Oh, god, Shep, what did I do that he didn’t want me anymore? I can’t live without knowing. It’s eating me up inside. I think I betrayed him, or something. Did I betray Trevor? Is that why he couldn’t stand to be with me anymore? How did I lose him? I have to know!”
She saw Shep struggle with a great weight but she would not release him. Not now. The time for lies had passed.
“Ah, hell, I suppose it don’t matter none no more. If it does, I guess I’ll just have to live with whatever trouble it brings,” and he took hold of her shoulders and settled into the role of a father comforting his daughter. “When you were under the spell of that implant, yeah, they used you to get to Trevor.”
She felt a painful sting of tears. Her heart beat as if it might explode. All her worst fears seemed realized.
“But listen, Nina, all that happened before you and Trevor got together. Do you hear me? Before. That wasn’t your fault, you hear? Trevor saved you from them. He made sure we got you outta there. He didn’t blame you. He never did.”
“I don’t—I don’t understand. Help me, Shep. Please.”
“You two were something else. And it did this old man’s heart good to see you with him. I don’t know much about that type of thing; I was never one for romance and all. But you two were the real deal. I think—I think maybe he’s the only one in the world who really knew you. And I’m gonna guess that the same goes for you to him. You went through a change, Nina. Not too much, understand. You were as good a soldier as ever—maybe better—with him there for you.”
Her eyes left his and darted back and forth as if reading words floating in the air.
“Then I—then you discovered the memory thing. I forgot all that, didn’t I?”
“That’s right, yep. No one saw it coming. When Johnny and Maple had to cut that cancer outta your head it took away an entire year of your life with it. I’m sorry, Nina.”
“But that—that doesn’t explain why—it doesn’t explain why we didn’t try again. I have to believe that I would want to—that he would—“
“It killed him, Nina. It killed him for you to forget. But there was something more. We were all told—we were told never to say anything to you. That it’d be treason to tell you about any of it.”
“You heard him at the meeting, Nina. There’s something more going on to all this. It ain’t no secret that Trevor has a line to someone higher up the chain of command, if you get my meaning.”
Nina did. She remembered the Old Man in the cabin, the one whose footsteps made no sound; whose touch created a bridge between her mind and Trevor’s.
She remembered asking that mysterious Old Man what Trevor needed to ease the pain; that maybe she should go get Trevor’s wife, Ashley.
“That ain’t gunna do the trick, missy. Trev, here—well, he’s with who he had to be with; more like a job than anythin’ else. Truth is, you exactly what he needs, Nina Forest.”
As she recalled the words of that strange Old Man, Shepherd gave them meaning.
“I don’t know what all happened, Nina, but from what I can gather, something he couldn’t control sort of got in the way. I’m guessing it has to do with finding Ashley and their kid a few months later, but whatever the reason I’m telling you he never stopped—well—it killed him to lose you. You hear me? I don’t think he ever had a choice.”
All the loose ends tied together for Nina Forest. Trevor still loved her, that’s why he had traveled into hostile territory to save her; that’s why the alternate Nina from another Earth had used her as bait to lure him. That’s why Nina needed to be the one to save The Emperor from himself after The Order turned all his grief against him.
Nina realized that even Ashley had known this, that’s why she had insisted on Nina being the one to solve the mystery behind the assassination; why she had requested Nina to track Trevor through the wilderness. The Old Man had known it, too—what had he said to her when he had first walked into the room?
“Oh, now, that’s right. You don’t remember a lick, do ya? Probably for the best and all. Yep, definitely for the best. We had a talk once, you and me, about our friend here.”
“Of course,” she said aloud to herself. “He knew me. I must have met him before I lost my memories—he probably told me why…”
“What’s that?”
“Nothing. It’s not important now.”
A voice joined the conversation. A shout actually.
“Captain!” Vince Caesar—loaded with gear and helmets and goggles—cupped his hands and yelled from alongside the helicopter. “Is there a problem?”
She waved at him. The type of aggravated wave that told Caesar to get back into the helicopter and wait until Hell freezes over if that’s what it took. He did just that.
“Nina, I’m sorry,” Shep consoled.
“It’s okay,” she actually smiled. “It’s good—it’s good to know. I have to go now.”
“I reckon so, yeah. But, listen here, Nina Forest, you give them hell. Do you hear? If this is it then let’s go out with a bang.”
The obsession of not-knowing faded faster than she thought possible. What came, instead, was a feeling of anger. Anger at the powers of Armageddon for stealing a chance at happiness from her. At putting her and Trevor through so much. At cheating her from what was rightfully hers.
She glanced at Shepherd. Her eyes narrowed to slits. Her body shivered ever-so-slightly and a hint of devilish red glared in her cheeks.
“Hell, Shep? They have no idea. But I’m going to show them, Shep. I’m going to teach it to them.”
She quickly placed a hand on his cheek in a silent goodbye, swiveled around sharply, and marched to the Blackhawk. A moment later the helicopter rose from the destroyed tarmac of McConnell Air Force Base and flew off to the west.
Jerry Shepherd watched her go.
10. Decapitation
Anita Nehru sat in a small chair gazing out a second floor window. Glare from the midday sun cast her in an angelic light. Her dark hair fell lovingly on her shoulders; its luster had returned in the seven days since leaving the Red Rock facility.
A sandwich and a bowl of soup waited for her attention, but her focus remained on something outside.
“You must eat your lunch before it is no longer hot,” Omar encouraged from across the bedroom as he fit a silver watch around his wrist.
“I’m watching the birds.”
Anita raised her hand slowly in an almost mechanical movement, and then traced a solitary finger on the window as if touching something beyond the glass.
“I see. Well I cannot stay. I am going over to talk with Mr. Jon Brewer and his wife. There are things to discuss.”
“You should see these birds, Omar. They are very big.”
He huffed and crossed the room to her. The hardwood floor creaked with his footsteps. When he arrived at his wife’s side he bent over and pecked her cheek.
“Have you taken the pills the doctor gave to you?”
“Yes—no, no,” her eyes did not waver from the window.
“Then you will do that. Before the nurse comes today. Please, Anita. You must.”
“Look at the birds, Omar.”
Omar reluctantly glanced outside. Two big, black birds circled over and over again above the mansion grounds.
“Yes, I see them. They are probably hawks. Very pretty,” but his tone suggested frustration, not awe. “Perhaps you should move away from the window and have your lunch, Anita. You have been sitting there since you woke up hours ago.”
“It’s a lovely view.”
“You will do as you choose, I suppose. But please Anita, take your medication. And eat some lunch.”
“I’m watching the birds. They just keep flying round and round.”
Omar reached the bedroom door, grabbed the knob, and sighed.
“That is what birds do, Anita. They fly.”
“Round and round?”
“Yes. Round and round.”
“Over the same spot?”
He did not answer.
She finally turned away from the window, looked him in the eyes, and said, “For three hours?”
Omar sighed again.
“I must go. I will be back soon.”
He exited the room. Anita watched the door close behind him and then she returned her eyes to the circling birds and traced a finger along the window again.
“Round and round, birdies. Round and round.”
The Greater Pittsburgh International Airport had actually died prior to the end of world, giving way to a shiny new airport in the early 90s. Allegheny County had struggled to find the best use for all that land, including tearing down the main terminal to make way for a cargo center. But it was not until after the end of the world that the old airport truly returned to life.
Brett Stanton resuscitated the old airport when he brought the dreadnought program to that stretch of wide open empty land. However, by Monday, May 25, eleven years after the invasion that program had stalled. Instead of building new dreadnoughts and super cargo carriers, the shipyards at the old Pittsburgh airport served as a triage center for the gigantic wounded warriors.
The Excalibur sat in dry dock. Or, rather, hovered. The rectangular monster lingered above what used to be the main runways of the airport. A series of gantries lined the massive ship from bow to stern and all along the sides. Hoses and walkways extended from those gantries to carry supplies and work crews on and off the ship. Temporary anti-gravity generators—big glowing cases each the size and shape of a football field—augmented the ship’s partially-operating onboard gravity generators, keeping the mammoth afloat.
Most of the ship hid behind those gantries, otherwise the wounds to The Empire’s flagship would be visible: holes in the superstructure, destroyed engine baffles, a massive gash along its topside runway, and an undercarriage riddled with blast holes.
Stanton wondered how the thing remained afloat, let alone managed to fly its way home to Pittsburgh after suffering so many injuries during a battle months ago.
Adjacent to the Excalibur and its circle of scaffolding floated another ship, this one not quite as long and not quite as wide but huge nonetheless. T
he Hercules presented an oval profile with a flat bottom, like an elongated domed stadium. Unlike its well-armed compatriot, the Hercules was big and empty by design. The vessel served as a gigantic warehouse, capable of transporting large amounts of materials. Even troops could utilize the huge carrier for short durations, although it was not designed to take large numbers of passengers over long distances.
Some gantries surrounded the Hercules, too, but not nearly as many. It did, however, sport two dozen of the temporary anti-gravity generators.
Brett Stanton stood behind the tinted windows in his second-story office and studied the scene while holding a phone to his ear. He saw trucks, tankers, carts, and workers scrambling around the base although in much smaller numbers than before Voggoth’s west coast invasion.
“Now wait, General,” he spoke into the line. “This is still going to take some time. What we’re scavenging from the Hercules isn’t going to fill all the holes—so to speak—in your ship. I’m mostly thinking about those generators. Your baby has first generation anti-gravs and they run with a different polarization than the Herc’s. We’re going to try and make them fit with a little elbow grease and grit, if you catch my meaning.”
Stanton listened, listened some more, and then replied, “I understand that, Jon, but now wait, just hold on, I can only do one or two miracles a day. Considering that this time last week we couldn’t even find replacement parts I think we’ve done a decent job fitting square pegs into round holes. Just don’t tell Omar. He’ll blow his top at us taking liberties with his designs. What’s that? Oh, well, soften the blow for him when he gets there, will you?”
Stanton listened again before saying, “I’m going over to the works right now to see for myself. We’ve already started loading ordnance and filling the fuel tanks for your fighters. Worst comes to worst she can be one heck of a weapons platform and flight deck. Give me a few more days and we’ll have it worked out—if you think so, yes—okay, I’ll see you out here this afternoon.”
Stanton hung up the receiver and gazed across the tarmac at the two air ships.
Beyond Armageddon V: Fusion Page 16