by Ricky Sides
At the same time that the green light was making Swiss cheese of the van, the blue beam was attacking other Marauder vehicles. Jim saw the blue light strike a truck that exploded. Next, the light hit a bus loaded with Marauders, who were trying to flee the area. Jim stared in disbelief when the beam hit the engine compartment. When the red pulses flashed down the beam, the entire front end of the bus was blown away. The driver and several of the passengers in the front of the bus were killed instantly, but the passengers in the middle and rear of the bus were unharmed.
Jim saw the ship move directly over the remains of the bus and hover at about thirty feet. He wondered what the pilot thought that he was doing. Several of the Marauders leaned out the windows and began to fire at the bottom of the ship as it hovered above them. He was surprised to see the bullets being deflected by the hull of the ship.
Jim saw a round disc-like object extend a few inches from the center area of the belly of the ship. Just when he thought he’d seen everything, the ship was capable of doing; he saw a yellow beam of light flash down and engulf the remains of the bus. He stared in awe as the men firing at the ship from the bus burst into flames. A second later, the entire bus was a raging inferno.
Jim raised his rifle to his shoulder and killed several of the men who were being burned alive. Their screams of agony abruptly ended as Pete and his men fired mercy shots of their own.
After the men in the bus had been killed, the battle was over. A few of the Marauders had escaped, but not many. Jim and Pete decided to let them go. They knew that the survivors would never bother them again and they both felt Pete’s men had been through enough for one day.
Jim walked rapidly toward the ship that had saved their lives. Beside him strode Pete and his Lieutenant, Bill Young.
The ship had landed well away from the burning bus and for the moment, it was just sitting there. As the trio approached, they saw a hatch open on the side of the ship and out stepped Jim’s brother Tim.
When Tim stepped out of the ship, he was grinning from ear to ear. He walked slowly to his brother and said, “Well, here I am.” He smiled mischievously at his older brother and asked, “What are you gaping at, Jim?”
When his brother had stepped from the ship, Jim had stopped and stared in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that his brother was the man who had taken on and defeated the Marauders, saving many of the survivalists from almost certain death.
Jim walked toward his brother smiling. He said, “It looks like you found yourself a new toy.”
The two men shook hands and then Tim’s expression became somber as he said, “I was afraid I’d be too late, but I see that I arrived in time for the main battle.”
Chapter 44
When the ship came charging onto the battlefield Reggie was sitting on a motorcycle, waiting for Burk to give the signal for the Marauder infantry to move in and attack the survivalists. He had parked at the curve in the road so that he could see the tanks attack the defenders.
As soon as the ship destroyed the first tank, he cranked the bike and headed back to the Marauders position at the main road. He slowed the bike to a crawl as he approached the first of the Marauders whom Burke had recalled after someone had ambushed and killed several as the tanks had advanced. Reggie had thought that a good strategic move and assumed that it had been Pete behind that weapon. As he approached the men, one asked him how the battle was going. Reggie had lied and said that the tanks were destroying Pete’s vehicles so that they couldn’t be used to try an escape. Then he had slowly ridden through the ranks of the Marauders.
Reggie’s plan was to get the hell out of here. He had no problems getting past the Marauders. They were busy listening to the sounds of the battle. He was almost past them when Burk stepped out in front of him with his knife in his hand. He said, “Don’t leave yet, Reggie. We have unfinished business.”
Reggie was good with a handgun. In fact, even Pete reluctantly admitted that he was one of the best men with a handgun that he had ever encountered. When Burke stepped in front of Reggie, he stopped the bike and grabbed a pistol in a holster, strapped to the body of the motorcycle in preparation for the battle with Pete and his band of survivalists. He shot Burke between the eyes. The man never knew what hit him.
Reggie didn’t look back as he gunned his motor and sped away down the highway. He knew that his conflicts with Pete weren’t over yet. But under the circumstances, he felt it best to run away and live to fight another day.
A few of Burke’s men saw what happened and turned to fire at Reggie. Before they could fire a single shot, the ship was upon them and the Marauders had their hands full just trying to stay alive. Most didn’t.
Chapter 45
That night, an informal meeting was held around a bonfire at Jim and Lacey’s farm. Tim and Patricia were sitting with Jim and Lacey. Evan was there as well, but he’d fallen asleep. Pete and Bill Young were seated with them and rounded out the group. Pete had guards set up all around the area that contained the tents belonging to the survivalists and the farmhouse. This was an important meeting, and they didn’t wish to be disturbed.
They were meeting to discuss the proposal that Tim and Patricia had made earlier. They were looking for volunteers to join in the fight against the Marauders. Tim had suggested an alliance. That alliance would be composed of the survival group, Jim and his new family, and Patricia and Tim who would be bringing the ship to the alliance. The purpose of the alliance was to help people who were being victimized by the lawless element of society, or what they all called, the Marauders.
Tim and Patricia felt the need was there to form such an alliance in view of their own experiences. They related many of the adventures they had experienced in order to stress the need for an alliance to perform the duties they were hoping to carry out. In turn, Pete and Bill related other adventures that they had experienced. Jim and Lacey added their own to the mix, and soon a cohesive image of what America was like these days formed in everyone’s mind.
They decided to take it step by step. First, they agreed that voting should be a simple show of hands. Next, they voted on whether or not sufficient problems existed to warrant the formation of an official team to deal with the Marauders full time. All present voted yes.
Then they voted on whether or not the base for such a group should be located in Alabama, or more precisely on Jim’s farm, since he had more than sufficient acreage to construct a suitable base for the small group. Since this entailed using Jim and Lacey’s property, all present looked to them to see if they were willing.
Jim looked at Lacey and said, “If you’d rather we can discuss this privately. You and Evan have every right to say no to the plan. It would change our original plans for the farm drastically.”
“Could we keep the house and trees around it?” Lacey asked.
“Yes” Pete answered. “We would be using a concrete bunker style base and could set it up on a few acres of your choosing. Most of it would be below ground level. Eventually our group would want to return to a normal lifestyle but that may be years away. We would need a small access road to the main highway. The house and the land would still belong to you folks. I’d sooner cut my own throat than take away Jim’s property.”
“Then I see no problems,” Lacey said with a smile. She added. “It would provide a safer living environment for Evan, and he’d have other children nearby to interact with and hopefully to study with as well. We’ll have to get some sort of school system set up for the kids.” Shrugging she said, “I see only good coming from this, beyond the loss of some of our privacy.”
“You’re sure?” Jim asked Lacey and she kissed him by way of answer.
“Okay you two, get a room!” Tim hooted in good-natured fun.
Pete spoke up then, saying, “I can only speak for myself of course. I’ll have to put it to the group as a whole and let them vote to see if they want to join the alliance, but I already know that I do.” Smiling he said, “I volunteer to be a weapons spec
ialist, sniper, and security man.”
Jim looked at Lacey with questioning eyes. “You know where your heart is in this matter,” Lacey said, and then she added, “I want to join up too, if you’ll have me that is. I have some first aid skills. I can cook moderately well. I’m a fast learner and will apply myself at whatever position the ship needs filling. I’ll need training, but I’ll give it my best.”
Patricia smiled warmly and reached out her hand to Lacey as she said, “It will be a pleasure to have another woman aboard the ship.”
Tim nodded his agreement and said, “Welcome aboard.”
Jim smiled and said, “I guess it’s settled then.” The firelight seemed to dance in his eyes when he said, “I’m in for the duration.”
Bill stirred beside Pete and quietly said, “I wonder how long that will be?”
The question wasn’t one that any of the friends and family could answer. Everyone considered it in his or her own way.
“What about you, Bill? Are you going to join the crew?” asked Tim. He saw Bill hesitate, so he said, “We need one or two more crew members. You seem a likely choice to me.”
Bill replied, “I’ll volunteer as well. I can help with security and ground action when needed, and it will be from time to time as you already related in one of your examples.”
“Good, it’s settled then. We have our crew all lined up,” said Tim. Turning to Patricia she nodded her head as if to say, “Go ahead.” He smiled at his wife and added, “Patricia and I agree that there is one more thing that needs to be settled tonight.” With a devilish grin on his face, he said, “We have to select the captain of the ship.”
Jim nodded his understanding. He said, “Yes, you need a leader. It would simplify everything if that was settled at the outset.”
“I agree,” said Pete quietly, but then he added, “Just don’t nominate me. I have no intention of being the captain.”
Jim smiled at his friend. He knew that Pete hated the leadership role. He knew that he had been the most qualified to fill the role, and that was the only reason he had taken on the leadership role of the group of survivalists. The mission that they were discussing was an entirely different matter.
Tim said, “Hey, why’s everybody looking at me?” When those gathered around the fire all started to look at him. He argued, “Jim, you know I’d make a lousy officer.”
“But you two found the ship,” argued Jim. “By all rights, it belongs to you and Patricia.”
Patricia spoke up then. She calmly pointed out that the ship belonged to the decent hard working people of America and not to any one individual or group of individuals.
Pete chuckled and said, “I guess it’s between Patricia, Lacey, Bill, and Jim then.”
Patricia shook her head saying, “I’m the computer specialist and communications operator. My plate is full. I can’t handle more responsibilities. The amount of work required to constantly maintain and update the software operating system for the ship is overwhelming. Remember the ship is experimental and we’ve had to iron out numerous bugs, and I have a list of to do projects five pages long.”
Lacey laughed, and then she said, “I’m primarily a housewife or have been for years. I’m not even truly qualified to be a member of the crew yet. I can’t see myself as captain of the ship by any stretch of the imagination.”
Pete grinned and turned to Jim. His smile grew broader as he said, “I guess that means it’s between you and Bill then.”
Bill looked soberly at Pete, and then he said, “I nominate Jim for the rank of captain.”
“I second the nomination,” Pete said quickly.
“All in favor of the nomination raise your hands,” Tim said.
Jim looked around at the assembled people and complained, “Don’t I have anything to say about this?”
“Not a damn thing!” Tim said and laughed. Pete and Bill smiled, but Lacey outright laughed at her lover’s expression.
“Does the ship have a name yet?” asked Jim.
“Actually, I guess it does,” said Patricia, who then told them about the intercepted radio messages that she had heard in Missouri. “So we have called it the Peacekeeper ever since. It just seems right.”
“I like it,” said Jim. “I guess that makes us the Peacekeepers then.”
“It has a nice ring to it,” Lacey observed.
Everyone agreed that from that moment on, they would refer to the ship as “The Peacekeeper” and they would refer to themselves as “The Peacekeepers.”
***
The End or Is It?
The Peacekeepers.
Some Gave All.
Book 2.
By Ricky Sides
Copyright © 2008
Cover art by Todd Aune.
Edited by Frankie Sutton
Preface
After the Battle of Athens, as the local residents now referred to the fight, the survivalists had their hands full carting away and burying the dead bodies of the Marauders. They couldn’t simply leave them where they had fallen. The danger of disease from the decaying corpses wouldn’t permit them to use that option. They turned anything belonging to the Marauders that could benefit the community over to the local officials. This included a considerable amount of food, for which the city officials were grateful.
They stripped the tanks destroyed in the battle at Jim’s farm of anything the survivalists could use. Much to the delight of the armorer, they managed to salvage a considerable number of weapons carried by the defeated Marauders. Many of those weapons appeared to be in good to excellent condition. They stored all these weapons in the armory. Not one would see use before it was first examined by the armorer to ensure that the weapon was safe to use.
***
Tim, accompanied by Pete and Jim, spent a few hours inspecting every inch of the ship to ensure that the recent battle hadn’t damaged the vessel. They began this process by examining the outer hull of the fifty-five foot long vessel. The ship was a flat gray in color and nearly seamless. There were faintly visible seams outlining the doors and the recessed weapons compartments. There was also the faint round outline of another compartment in the nose of the ship, but Tim had no idea why that seam was exposed. Other than those exceptions, the hull of the ship was a smooth even surface that was cool to the touch.
At twenty-five feet wide and ten feet tall, it amazed Jim that the ship was capable of flight and said as much to his brother. Laughing, Tim responded that he understood his brother’s surprise. “It is hard to believe that a flying machine equipped with six cabins, a galley, a mess hall, latrine, cargo bay and a control room can fly. If it had wings, I could more readily accept the concept. To tell the truth, it amazed me the first time I got her off the ground,” he said with a wink and a grin.
The three men even scrambled up ladders and walked the length of the ship, inspecting the top of the Peacekeeper for damage. They were pleased when they discovered none.
Tim hovered at ten feet while Jim and Pete walked beneath the craft examining the bottom for signs of damage that may have been incurred when landing the ship on some of the more unforgiving surfaces they had encountered. As had been the case with the rest of the hull, the surface was free of even the smallest of blemishes.
Next, the three men turned their attention to the interior of the ship. Tim couldn’t resist the urge to have Patricia give the men the same guided tour that he had received the first time he had boarded the ship. Both Jim and Pete were delighted with her rendition of the trainer’s admonitions.
Pete was especially fascinated by the control room with its panels of color-coded touch activated controls. Like Tim before him, Pete made the mental connection to the old Star Trek the Next Generation ship consoles.
Their attention next turned to the armaments. Tim extended them from their recessed compartments and the three men examined the main forward laser and then the twin aft lasers, which fired the smaller green beams of energy. None of the three weapons showed signs of dama
ge. Tim explained that the twin rear mounted lasers were powerful in their own right but that a red pulse, which rode the beam down to the target, enhanced the main forward weapon. Once that pulse slammed into the target, it caused an explosion comparable to a high explosive grenade detonation. He then pointed out that before the pulse rode down that beam, the beam would have penetrated into the body of the target. This meant that the explosion resulting from the impact of the pulse was happening inside the target rather than on the surface.
Pete appreciated that distinction. It made a world of difference in the amount of damage that the weapon would be able to inflict. Tim pointed out that soft targets, such as a human enemy, wouldn’t be able to withstand the blue beam of the main laser long enough for the red pulse to be activated.
To examine the belly gun of the ship, Tim enlisted the aid of Patricia who put the ship in hover mode and deployed the unit from its recessed compartment. An eight-foot ladder was placed beneath the ship and the three men took turns climbing up to examine the weapon from various angles. Jim was a bit nervous about being below that weapon while they deployed it, but Tim assured his brother that it was impossible for the weapon to accidentally discharge.
The inspection proved that the Peacekeeper was indeed a tough and durable ship. There were no outward signs of damage to either the hull of the vessel or the components of her weapons.