by Nick Braker
Tom chimed in again.
“Our Intel came in thirty minutes ago and it’s not good. We’re sending you back to Nicaragua. The prototype for the planet buster bomb was stolen and we believe it is already in the Omarii’s control. Since we just learned that the plutonium did make it into Miguel’s country, we are converging several groups of agents there.”
“And our fancy spaceship?” Magnus asked.
“Ultimately? Headed to Europe,” Tom replied, shaking his head in frustration. “We have reliable intelligence that there is an Omarii attempting to create a tectonic event capable of crumbling the Earth’s crust. We’ve already experienced several earthquakes in the region and the ship will head there to investigate. They are hitting us from all sides.”
“Wait,” Magnus said, “this just confirms the real threat is in Nicaragua. They want the ship as far away as possible so-”
Alexandria nodded. “That is a very real possibility, but we can’t ignore any threat. I have no way to get agents to that part of Europe in time, let alone have them cover a large enough area to find out what is happening. Seph feels she has come up with a way to detect the-”
Ruth stood up. “Ma’am. Respectfully, we need to get going.”
Alexandria massaged her temple. “You’re right. No excuses, but we’re all tired. Get moving agents. Mira and team are standing by at the D.C. landing facility. They are waiting and can get you to Nicaragua within a few minutes. Magnus, they will not be able to stay. The tectonic threat in Europe is also a viable threat and the spaceship is the only way we can deal with it.”
Magnus nodded. They all stood, preparing to leave.
“General Fernando of the Nicaraguan military is not cooperating.” Tom said. “It seems he is not convinced of our story of extraterrestrials, even with the assurances of several governments. You shouldn’t have any trouble with him or his troops, but you’ll have no friends in Nicaragua. You’ll have to land unannounced near Miguel’s complex and break your way in.”
“One last question,” Giselle said. “Why don’t we just fucking nuke his entire facility?”
Alexandria folded her arms, trying to warm her hands. She didn’t hesitate. “Two items are at play here. The first is, we cannot use a nuclear option as a means of destroying a possible threat every time one occurs. It has to be the last option and one where the threat is real and confirmed, otherwise, we’d have already nuked several locations across the globe.”
“And the second item...?” Ruth asked.
“I wouldn’t have let you leave without this last piece of information. You all know your job comes with risks. You signed up for it and I know each of you would give your lives if needed. Dr. Thorpe assures us that regardless of alien technology or any science they can put behind it, there is no way to ready the bomb in under six hours once the raw materials are in place. The science behind his bomb requires a cascading effect. The energy builds once activated. We know the deadline to stop the Omarii is just over five hours from now because the last component the alien needed arrived an hour ago which is why you are here. If you cannot stop it, we have a jet in the air that will deliver a nuclear strike. We know this one is real and you have four hours to stop it once you arrive. If we don’t hear from you. I will order the strike.”
Magnus started toward Alexandria. Ruth glared, shaking her head at him.
Alexandria continued. “Ruth, I’m assigning your team to Magnus. That is an order. No discussion. Now get moving.” She paused, staring at Magnus. “All of you.”
He doesn’t like the arrangements, but he knows better than to waste time arguing about it now. Later though, I’m going to get an earful, I’m sure.
Alexandria returned to her desk as the others left her office.
Earth - Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, October 27, 1987 - 09:35am
Magnus
With Tom leading, Magnus and his new team entered the elevator. Tom placed his hand on an electronic pad on the elevator’s panel near the buttons. The device scanned his hand from top to bottom. A light, at the top of the panel, switched from red to green. Tom pressed the button for the roof.
“New tech?” Magnus asked.
“Yes. We have to,” Tom answered. “WSO is fighting the Kron with additional security and processes. For example, tracking key people, looking for unusual behaviors, grouping teams together... we’re doing everything we can to keep them from using one of us.”
Tom’s answer came a bit too quickly. Tom was worried and for good reason. Magnus changed the subject.
“Ah. How long is this going to take?” Magnus asked.
“To the landing facility? Just a few minutes,” Tom answered.
The door opened and the crew stepped out onto the roof of WSO and the morning sun of Washington, D.C. A helicopter, blades spinning, awaited them on the pad. Magnus climbed in last and buckled up. The pilot, a man in his fifties with a hooked nose and beard, took off smoothly, flying above the nation’s capital buildings.
He flew them to the Patuxent Research Refuge. It was the secret location of the alien ship’s landing base northeast of D.C. proper. The facility housed the underground landing tower for the alien spaceship Magnus and team had confiscated so many months ago, the same base that Grep had used to bring the crew back from the brink of death after being pulled into the wormhole portal. The refuge was used to minimize the chance of the public seeing the government’s alien spacecraft.
“Ruth, have any of you flown in the ship before?” Magnus asked.
“No. As you can imagine, it doesn’t get out much. Short of potential planetary disasters, it never leaves the Devils Shore facility.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Li Xin said. “Ever since you four... shit. Sorry Magnus.”
Magnus didn’t react. Li Xin didn’t mean anything by it and her excitement about the ship had let her comment about his friends slip out.
“It’s okay, girl,” Magnus said. “We can all grieve later when this one is over.”
She nodded, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him a quick squeeze. The rest of the trip was in silence. Four minutes later, the driver landed the helicopter on the roof of the facility. Alexandria had brought Magnus here after learning his team had survived.
All except Warren.
Ruth studied Magnus, he could see her gaging him. She knew this was where he’d learned of Warren’s death. She cared for him, but both kept their relationship a secret and their feelings unspoken. Few knew about it and she worked especially hard to keep it that way. Hell, Ruth was always on the job even when they were alone together.
The team entered the rooftop stairwell, navigating their way down a flight of stairs and then to an elevator that took them to the bottom floor, nearly twenty stories. A short hallway led them directly to the center of the building and a door. Tom scanned his hand again and the door opened.
Magnus stepped in, looking up. He stared, transfixed at his old ship on the landing pad. The ship sat perfectly still at the bottom of a twenty-story shaft. The shaft’s diameter was twice as big as the ship and the aperture above was open, revealing the morning sky. It emitted a low hum that indicated it was powered on. Magnus hadn’t seen the ship since the night Grep returned it to Earth without Warren.
“Son of a-” Li Xin said. “I never thought I’d get to see this baby.”
“Fucking A,” Giselle added.
“I thought we had to watch our language,” Magnus said, smiling at Li.
“Uh, go fuck yourself,” she said, elbowing his side.
“Let’s go,” Magnus said, chuckling.
The group of five boarded the ship via the now extended ramp. Magnus gave them a brief tour along the way. The circular ramp led to the command deck and Magnus followed it up and around, stepping out into the saucer section’s top deck.
“Captain on the bridge,” Mira said.
“Captain?” Magnus and Zara said at the same time.
Mira crinkled her eye
s, smiling as Zara snickered at him.
“Good to see you... sir,” Zara said.
Both Mira and Zara left their stations, running to hug him.
“Welcome aboard, Magnus,” Jules said from her station. “We will be leaving as soon as all of you are seated.”
Magnus had hurt Jules and he hated himself for it. He hadn’t truly spoken with her since their training days at Devils Shore. She hadn’t forgiven him and she was the type that never would. He didn’t deserve forgiveness.
“Let’s get there,” Magnus said. “We can’t be certain Dr. Thorpe knows everything about this technology and we could be seconds from the aliens finishing their mission. I hope he’s right and we have the time to stop the Omarii.”
Magnus remembered the women had already met and introduced themselves previously so he didn’t say anything. Mira pointed out seating for the four new members of his team. She winked at Magnus, indicating the captain’s chair. He hated that chair, but that was exactly where he had to sit. He stood in front of it, facing away and leaned back, pausing for a second before sitting down in it. Motion from the view screen caught his eye. They were already accelerating upwards.
“Are we underway?” Magnus asked.
“Yes,” Jules responded. “We are 4.2 minutes from the target.”
“Scans?” he asked.
“This hideaway does not even show up on scans, Magnus,” Mira answered.
“What?”
“Mira is correct but there is a feint energy signature there,” Zara added. “The Omarii is trying to hide the structure from electronic detection. From the report you gave in your debrief, Amanda is correct. This is likely the spot. It appears though the Aliri are involved with our good fortune against the Kron.”
“Yet, the Omarii is less than four hours from destroying Earth,” Magnus said.
“Agreed, apparently neither race is all powerful.”
“We’re on our own. Just the way I like it,” Li Xin said.
The ship hadn’t changed. Its operating hum was stronger inside and the recycled and filtered atmosphere was neutral in regards to odors. The gravity well lagged as they made course corrections along the way. The ship streaked through the atmosphere leaving a steamy plume of superheated air in its wake. It was quiet on the ship and several times along the way both Zara and Mira would look up from their stations to smile at him. They were genuinely glad to see him, but Jules never took her eyes off her navigation station. Magnus sighed inside. He needed to at least talk with her at some point. He needed to try. Magnus owed her that much.
“Where is-” Magnus asked. “-never mind. She’s with Grep while he recovers?”
Mira nodded.
“There was little any of us could say,” Mira said.
“That is true love. Would you agree, Mira?” Jules asked, keeping her eyes on her station.
Shit. This is about to get awkward.
“Magnus, you and your team need to prepare,” Mira interjected. “We will land long enough to drop you off. We will also provide initial cover fire but we need to assess the threat in Europe. We need to leave quickly.”
“Good luck, Mira,” Magnus said, nodding.
“You, too, dear,” she said.
Magnus headed toward the lower deck, motioning the other four to follow.
“Once we’re on the ground, let’s get inside. If I know Zara, she’s going to use a low power laser blast to stun everyone topside. We’ll have about three minutes. They won’t be able to see or hear during that time.”
“How do you know so much about that?” Giselle asked.
“She shot me once before. Hurt like hell.”
“Ooh, did you piss her off, too?” Li Xin asked.
“Huh?”
“Well,” Li Xin said. “Jules clearly-”
“Let’s get that ramp open,” Ruth ordered.
Magnus hit the switch lowering the ramp.
Chapter 7
GALIBRI
Kron - Capital City of Citron
Tuesday, October 27, 1987 - 09:00am
Katerra
Katerra’s lead scientist, Galibri, stood before her. Katerra had summoned Galibri and Commander Kada to her throne room. Galibri wore a thin, dark gray robe that brushed the tops of her black shoes. It completely covered her from neck down. Galibri was shorter than most Kron women but that was due to her advancing age. Physically she was declining but Galibri’s mental faculties were still intact, though her recent failure brought that into question.
Commander Kada stepped forward. “You wished to speak with us, my queen?” Kada’s stark white hair was short and straight, ending just above her shoulders. Her mint green eyes were alert and darted back and forth between the group Katerra had assembled. Kada was the youngest Fleet Commander in Kron’s history but, where others saw youthful inexperience, Katerra saw tactical genius. Kada’s mind was that of a warrior, born to lead with a desire to win at all costs. She was the perfect replacement for her mother’s military predecessor.
Katerra nodded to Kada.
“Galibri, report,” Katerra ordered.
“You were right, my queen. The newly acquired genetic data from Earth matches our own.”
“Perfectly?” Katerra asked.
“The genetic information, if it can be trusted,” Galibri said, “indicates we are the same species. Our only differences current day are our minor adaptations due to gravity, climate and our own genetic manipulation-”
“The data is clear, then?” Kada asked. “We were once the same species?”
“Yes,” Galibri said, “which means our migration to Kron nearly 6000 years ago from our dying world was not the only trek our species made across the galaxy. The humans must be from Aeon, as well.”
Galibri’s assessment didn’t surprise Katerra. Alestron was a master of deception and a worthy opponent. There was nothing Alestron would not do to kill Katerra’s people. The Aliri vermin’s leader had intentionally compromised the data from Earth. The humans were genetically identical to Kron and the Aliri were playing them against each other. Why risk himself or his people if he can get someone else to do his dirty work? If Katerra continued the ruse, Alestron would not be the wiser and would continue his plan. Katerra was certain Alestron wanted her people dead and he was using Earth as a weapon to strike against Kron. It was not the first time. The Aliri had helped the Cortians’ attack her people, forcing Katerra’s mother to counterstrike. The Cortians were now extinct and Kron had almost followed them.
Alestron had chosen Earth decades ago to be a weapon against Kron. His plans were far reaching and long lasting but even he would not see this coming. Katerra would make peace with the humans, though that would not be all she had planned to beat Alestron. She hoped to see Alestron’s face as he died.
Earth - Managua, Nicaragua
Tuesday, October 27, 1987 - 10:05am
Magnus
The ramp opened, revealing the morning sky in Nicaragua. From the standing view of the ramp’s open doorway, the landscape streaked past Magnus. A blur of trees, a stream, and several animals moved across his field of vision almost as fast as he could make them out. In less than a second, the scene in front of Magnus stopped. He instinctively wanted to brace himself from the sudden stop but he had done this before. The ship’s gravity well kept them from feeling the full impact of deceleration, giving him the impression that he was simply watching a projected video on one of the ship’s many computer screens.
The ramp was several feet off the ground when Magnus jumped. He landed, bringing out his blaster. The area in front of him lit up in hues of angry red. He enjoyed the screams of agony that accompanied it. Zara had fired the ship’s particle lasers and every single creature in front of them went unconscious. She had neutralized Miguel’s security team.
The rest of Magnus’ team joined him on the ground. The group stood in a field roughly 100 feet from the mansion. Freshly cut grass, hay and horse manure assaulted his nostrils. The estate looked complet
ely normal with no external evidence it housed the possibility of mankind’s destruction.
I’ve been here before.
“Move,” Magnus ordered.
The team spread out, splitting off to his left and right. Li Xin and Ruth moved to Magnus’ right side while Giselle and Joannah shifted to his left. They moved at a full run toward Miguel’s mansion unconcerned about safety. Zara would not let him down and miss a potential threat. No one remained conscious to stop their approach.
“We’ll be fine until we get inside,” Magnus said.
They reached a concrete path leading to the house. The path was clean and well cared for, so that anyone who happened by would see that everything was normal, just like the church in France; only it wasn’t normal. It was a facade. The Omarii wanted nothing to be out of place and keeping the staff actively working and maintaining the property would be a good cover to hide her operation. Smart, but useless now. Magnus knew their tactics.
“What about after we get inside?” Giselle asked, gulping in air from the run.
His team had reached the base of the front porch that surrounded Miguel’s home. Painted white, like most of the house, the porch stood roughly four feet off the ground. Black shutters decorated the windows around the house on both floors. A small set of stairs led up to the porch with a large double door as the only entrance from this side. Several guards were splayed out in unusual positions along the porch, the closest lying next to his team. Keeping cover, Li Xin reached through the porch’s railing, putting two fingers to the neck of one of the guards.
“Magnus,” Li Xin said. “This guard is dead.”
Magnus jerked his head around.
“You-”
“I’m sure,” Li Xin answered.
“Zara didn’t stun them?” Giselle asked.
“Makes sense,” Ruth said, “the guards might be ignorant of what is actually going on but they would kill us just the same. Zara made sure we wouldn’t have to deal with them... at all.”
“Damn it,” Magnus said, changing focus. “Let’s get inside.”